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The following are excerpts from an interview with Coptic priest Zakariya Boutrus which aired on June 27, 2005 on Al-Hayat TV.
Boutrus: I live in a country (the US) that respects freedom of speech. I exercise my freedom of speech and talk, and no one can deny my free will. Gone are the days of the sharp sword that cut off the tongues of our people and forefathers to prevent them from speaking in the Coptic language. Gone are the days people's heads would be chopped off if they did not convert to Islam.
Interviewer: What should the Muslims do to make you stop saying these things?
Boutrus: My demands involve ten important issues. Let's call it ten demands. The first demand... They are not for my sake, but for the sake of truth, belief, and Jesus.
First, striking out all the Koranic verses that deny the divinity of Jesus and the revelation of God in him.
Second, acknowledging that Jesus is the spirit and word of God, as they truly believe, without hiding this fact.
Third, striking out the Koranic verses and Hadiths that incite to kill Christians, like in the Al-Tawba chapter, v.29: "Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in Judgment Day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His messenger have prohibited, nor do they follow the religion of truth" – that is, Islam. Among whom? "Among the People of the Book."
Interviewer: Who are...
Boutrus: The Christians and Jews. "Until they pay the Jizya poll tax in submission." This is murder.
Number four, striking out the Koranic verses and Hadiths that incite to terrorism and oppression in all their forms.
Interviewer: What do you mean by terrorism and oppression?
Boutrus: Terrorism – "Urge the believers to fight," and the Hadith: "I was commanded to fight people until they say: 'There is no God but Allah'." All this is terrorism and murder.
Number six: Stopping the attack on Jesus and the Holy Book in mosques and in all the media.
Number seven: Giving people and Muslims the freedom of... You may ask what do I care about the Muslims? No! They must have the freedom to choose their religion and the freedom to express their belief.
Number eight: To abolish the punishment for apostasy, to stop torturing people who convert to Christianity, and to stop imprisoning or even killing them.
Number nine: Formal apologies must be made by leaders throughout the Arab world for the murder of Christians in countries invaded by Islam.
Number ten: Leaders throughout the Arab world should make formal apologies for the insults directed against our faith throughout Islamic history.
The viewers may say, "Is this priest crazy, or what? These demands could only be made by an insane man... To strike out Koranic verses... Does this make any sense? What is he going on about?" OK, if you cannot change (the Koran), why are you asking us to change our beliefs? Why do you demand that we say what you say, or else - the sword?
(Al-Halabi) says: "If the Prophet wanted an available woman..." – in other words, an unmarried woman, a widow, or a single woman - "...he was allowed to enter her..." I don't like to use the word i-n-t-e-r-c-o-u-r-s-e. "...without her guardian and without witnesses..." Without witnesses. "...and against her will." Against her will. "If he desired a married woman, her husband had to divorce her for him. And if he desired a servant-girl, her master had to give her to him. He can even marry off the woman to whoever he wants, against her will."
Interviewer: We know that the Prophet is allowed what others are not.
Boutrus: Why? Is he made of different stuff than the rest of mankind?
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