California Sheik Hamza Yusouf Speaks Out Against Terrorism

The Following is an excerpt from a speach given by California sheik Hamza Yousuf:

Sheik Hamza Yousuf: So I want to speak to you tonight about a very important topic that I feel is absolutely necessary that I speak about - because I would not be true to what I am feeling inside.

In Russia, a group of people took hostage a school filled with children and that resulted in the deaths of several hundred people, including around 175 children. And this atrocity, unfortunately, was done once again in the name of our religion. And I feel that we as Muslims are suffering all over because of the acts of a handful of people. And we must, in one voice, condemn and completely reject the concept of indiscriminate killing in this religion.

It is neither from the religion, nor is it sanctioned by the religion in any reading of our pre-modern tradition. It is a modern phenomenon and unfortunately, those practicing it have learned it from the nihilistic elements within Western tradition who innovated it from Marxism and from Asian philosophies a concept of the kamikaze. This is not our tradition and we must recognize this it is doing untold damage to Islam because we cannot be so shortsighted that we do not see the eyes of history looking upon us as a community.

And I feel that what happened in that…school is more heinous than the destruction of the Church of the Sepulcher that occurred under the insane Fatimid ruler Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. And we suffer the fact that that is recorded in the history books, a blemish on the Muslim peoples, as long as people read history. We must reject indiscriminate violence against innocents. Because blood is too precious and it is our Lord that sanctified the blood of Bani Adam […] "And for that reason the sanctity of life we decreed upon Bani Israil and by extensions upon the Muslims that anyone who kills a soul without just cause or brigandry in the earth – terrorism – that it is as if they have killed all of humanity."

And this is what happened we do not count numbers, we do not say: They killed 30,000 of us, or 3,000. We do not count numbers. Every soul is sacred and this has to be reestablished on the earth, once again, the teaching of Abraham. And that is why our Prophet warned us […] "Beware of extremism in religion - in religion – because it is extremism in religion that destroyed the peoples before you." He did not warn it if it was not a real and serious threat to the Muslim community.

And so we… this is the issue of age, this is the issue that the Republican party is basing their entire platform on. Basing an entire political platform, in the most powerful military nation on the earth, it is based on the idea that Islamic fanatics are a threat to the security of this country. And this must be condemned!