Subscribe Today
Request a Clip
Canadian Shiite Imam Jaffer H. Jaffer said in a June 28, 2019 Friday sermon at the Masumeen Islamic Centre in Brampton, a suburb of Ontario, Canada, that it is the way of the Prophet's Household to stand up to humiliation and bullying like Iran and its leadership have been standing up to U.S. President Donald Trump's bullying. He said that Trump has been a bully his entire life, and he criticized him for withdrawing from the JCPOA for "egocentric" reasons. Sheikh Jaffer said that he hopes the tensions between Iran and the U.S. will subside without loss of innocent life, and he prayed for more leaders like Supreme Leader Khamenei and Ayatollah Ali Sistani and for Allah to help the Houthi leaders in Yemen, who he praised for refusing to succumb to those who are more powerful than them. Sheikh Jaffer added: "These are the type of leaders that Allah wants to see … It is our responsibility to support them and to pray for them." The sermon was streamed live on Masuemeen Islamic Centre's YouTube channel.
Sheikh Jaffar: "There are generally two ways that one will respond to a bully. The first one would be where someone will fall in line with what the bully wishes.
[…]
"And then the other wat is to hold firm, and say that we will not succumb to the bullying. Now, that may lead to other repercussions, right? But that is the firm way to stand – that is the way of the Household of the Prophet. They don't accept humiliation. [They say:] 'Away with the humiliation!' Trump has been bullying people his entire life, right? From his days of business, and now we see that even more in his presidency.
[…]
"The fact that he negated [the Iran nuclear] deal was without any grounds, really, but just because of his egocentric approach to life. And then he imposed sanctions when Iran did not back down. Not only did he impose some of the heaviest sanctions on the country – very recently, he imposed sanctions on Ayatollah Khamenei himself – may Allah give him a long life – and he went after other leadership positions by trying to financially cripple them. Through all of this, you know, we see a very beautiful example of how one should stand up to bullies.
[…]
"This display of leadership, quite honestly, is admirable. It is something that deserves to be praised. And we will see, Allah willing. We pray to Allah that there are no consequences where innocent lives are lost, and that, Allah willing, it comes to an end. We come to this – to a third form of bullying now – where currently Trump is at a G-20 meeting, and he has come out again with that same bullying stance: Any European country that buys oil from Iran will be faced with sanctions. And we are going to see now how these other countries respond to this form of bullying – whether they take the approach that has been seen by Iran, or they take the approach that has been seen by Canada and Mexico [with NAFTA]. We pray to Allah that we have leaders in our lives such as these – like Ayatollah Khamenei, like Sistani, and all of our great leaders – who do not succumb to the bullying of powers that seem to be greater than them. We pray that we are constantly provided with leaders like those in Yemen, who – even though they are surrounded by sea, land, and air – ye they are resistant to the cause that is taking place, and they continue to stand firm in their refusal to succumb to the wishes of those who have power. These are the type of leaders that Allah wants to see. When we see those types of leaders, it is our responsibility to support them and to pray for them."
Latest Clips
