British Muslims Discuss Whether Iran Should Be Allowed to Obtain Nuclear Weapons

Following are excerpts from a debate on the Iranian nuclear project, which aired on Islam TV on August 23, 2006:

Interviewer: Does Iran have the right to nuclear weapons - not peaceful development, but weapons?

Azad Ali, Muslim Safety Forum: Yes.

Interviewer: Right, Asim?

Asim Qureshi, "Cage Prisoners" Organization: Yes.

Interviewer: Right, now please elaborate why.

Azad Ali: Well, it's... You're either fair, and you allow people... You know, what you have for yourself you allow for other people, or you're unfair and an oppressor. So, if I'm a fair person - if I have a house and a car, I'd expect my fellow man to have a house and a car as well, and I wouldn't stop them from getting. It's a simple answer.

Interviewer: Asim.

Asim Qureshi: Yes, exactly what Azad says. Non-proliferation must be carried out by everybody. If you're going to be just, you have to be, and that's it. So, when you've got Israel, the US, and the UK, who all have access to nuclear arms, Iran - so what, let them have it. It's good.

Interviewer: Now, what they would counter is that they would say that we have weapons in the hands of responsible governments.

Azad Ali: Do we?

Interviewer: ...and that Iran is not a... This is obviously their counter to your point - that Iran is not a responsible government. Perhaps, regionally even, before we talk about internationally - are there other irresponsible governments in that region that have nuclear weapons, or is it just Iran?

Azad Ali: Israel already has, and what is this "reasonable" and sanity that they always talk about? Even if we use their own media and their own propaganda - if you look at the number of innocent people they're going around killing...

Interviewer: Who's they?

Azad Ali: America, Israel - just to name two people that are physically involved in all this stuff. They're killing thousands upon thousands of people, innocent people, backed with the threat of nuclear... So, you know, if you... That's my point, it comes back to my point. If you're a fair and just person, then you would allow what you have for yourself for your other man. If you're an oppressor you wouldn't. So, in my eye, people who are hypocritical, are oppressors.

[...]

Non-Muslim caller: On the point of nuclear weapons - should Iran get them - I kinda side with the fact: No. Because I've never been actually threatened, as a Western person, I've never actually been threatened by, say, Israel, who I believe has nuclear weapons, but there are so many Muslim countries that have actually threatened me, as a Westerner, and my way of life, that I would not trust a country like Iran, that believes in martyrdom...

Interviewer: Right, can I ask you how they've threatened you, if you could elaborate on that.

Non-Muslim caller: Well, in a sense... even as... I married a Muslim girl, and I used to go to a Liverpool mosque, and even the way of life, such as... You'd have people like Siraj Wahhaj that were calling some white woman a whore. So you can take it from the basics there, to the burning of the Union Jack, to the way that they're calling for Jihad against the West. So really, I would not trust a country like Iran. And yet, if it was a peaceful country, maybe something like if Singapore wanted a nuclear weapon, I would probably trust them, because they seem less, sort of, warmongering. Because I know you say that Islam is the religion of peace, but according to my wife, who is an Arab - she said that Islam actually means submission, and if you look at the history... I mean, we're told that Islam lived in Europe in peace and harmony with Western people, but that's not true, because when the Moors actually went to Spain, they actually killed the leader of the armies, killed the king, so to speak, and they actually invaded the country and people actually had to live next to Muslims because they were forced to. So I would Iran nuclear weapons on the fact that it's a violent country.

[...]

Interviewer: Israel hasn't threatened him.

Azad Ali: But Israel has threatened other Muslims. I think this is the problem. It's all perceptions. I mean, he's got a valid point. That valid point is that he feels threatened. But he feels threatened from people who are weak. What about the Muslims who feel threatened from people that are superpowers, like America, like Israel? What about them? Shouldn't they have a self right to determination? And I think the point that a lot of people miss is, look, it's not Muslims or non-Muslims. it's nothing to do with that. It's about justice.