Egyptian Cleric Mahmoud Shaaban: Yes to Dialogue with ISIS, No to Fighting It

Following are excerpts from an Eid Al-Adha sermon delivered by Egyptian cleric Mahmoud Shaaban, the sermon was delivered on October 4, 2014 and posted on the Internet on October 9, 2014:

Mahmoud Shaaban: The U.N. Charter is the charter of the powerful and oppressive nations, which act in unison against the weak nations. It is the charter agreed upon by all the oppressors, who banded together against all the weak. Oh Muslims, if you look at any group that is being massacred, any group that is being slaughtered, any group that is being trampled upon, you will realize that what they all have in common is that they are Muslims.

Whatever happened to that charter?! Under the Crusader banner, the U.N. scattered armies from all over the world to fight the Muslims [in Syria]. There are monotheistic Muslims, although they have made mistakes. We do know much about them beyond what the media tells us about them.

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What did Ali ibn Abi Talib do with Kharijites? 4,000 Kharijites accused the Caliph Ali of heresy, and sanctioned the killing of his Muslim supporters. Ali sent Abdallah ibn Abbas to talk to them, to argue with them, to reason with them. Indeed, he argued with them, and educated them, and 2,000 Kharijites returned to the camp of Ali. Half of them. Half of them returned to the Truth, understood the true path, renounced error, abandoned Falsehood, and returned to Allah.

Why not adopt this method [with ISIS], oh Islamic scholars? Did the American Secretary of State not say: "We want a cultural and ideological war"? Did he want a media war? No. Did he want a blood-filled war? Yes. When he said that, all the TV channels and all the sheiks began talking about ISIS, about how dangerous it was, about the Kharijites, and about Islam's verdict about them.

My question is: Who among you have actually met them? Who among you actually heard what they have to say? We acknowledge their mistakes. We know that there are no sheiks among them and that they make mistakes, but it is our duty to guide them, to teach them, and to shift them from the melting pot of Falsehood into the melting pot of clear Truth.

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Lord, support the Sunnis wherever they may be. Lord, support the monotheists wherever they may be, and wreak vengeance upon the oppressors wherever they may be. Wreak vengeance upon the infidels, wherever they may be. Wreak vengeance upon the accursed Jews, wherever they may be. Wreak vengeance upon the treacherous Americans, wherever they may be.

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