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On June 1, radical German Salafi preacher Pierre Vogel posted an online video on his Facebook page, in which he responded to recent ISIS accusations that he was an apostate. The accusation, which first appeared in a March 22 article in the ISIS English-language magazine "Dabiq," generated widespread debate in Salafi circles and in the Western media. Shortly after, an ISIS video, which circulated on Jihadi websites, elaborated on the claim that Vogel was an apostate, a claim that would legitimize his killing. Vogel, in his response, related to older calls made by Austrian ISIS member Abu Usama Al-Gharib to wage Jihad in the West by stabbing infidels (see MEMRI clip 5035). Vogel said that the ISIS position reflected "a fundamental misunderstanding of Jihad" and was "pure nonsense" and that the Prophet Muhammad would not have permitted indiscriminate slaughter of women and children.
Pierre Vogel: A brother has asked me for my opinion on the statement of Abu Usama Al-Gharib, who said that if you live in Germany, you should drive a car into a crowd, or if you are unable to do so, you should just take a knife and attack people. In other words, if you are unable to go to Syria, you should at least do it in Germany - drive a car into a crowd or take a knife and slaughter them. What is my opinion on this? First of all, this statement reveals to us the true face and mindset of these people. There is a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue of Jihad. First of all, how can you say "Take up a knife and slaughter them" without drawing distinctions, like the prophet did? The prophet prohibited the killing of women, children and so on in combat. You are not making that [distinction]. That means that you permit Muslims to kill women, or to enter a kindergarten and slaughter the children there. Just like in Paris...How many Muslims died there? A lot. Many Muslims died there. In the attacks in London, 10% of the victims were Muslims. That's not a problem for you. You can simply open fire in a café in an area where Muslims live, and you don't care at all. Is that your understanding of Jihad?
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People like Abu Usama Al-Gharib conduct Jihad like they conduct prayer. Even if you have no capability whatsoever, the main thing is to fight. The main thing is to kill. It is no longer about making the word of Allah reign supreme. It is not about the fight against injustice. It is about revenge, about instilling fear in people. Did the Prophet say to the people in Mecca: Go out at night on the streets, take a big knife, and just slaughter them? Why didn't the Prophet do that? Now [ISIS supporters] get angry, [and say]: "You just want to please the taghout," and so on. My brother, his is what the Quran teaches. Shouting "Allah Akbar" and claiming to be a mujahid does not mean that you are infallible. The first to go to Hell will be the mujahid. One of the first. He will stand before Allah, and Allah will ask him for an account of his deeds. He will say: "I fought for you until I became a martyr." Allah will respond: "You lie. You fought so that people would say you are brave. This has already been said. Then the mujahid is sent to Hell. So don't come to me with such nonsense saying that a mujahid is infallible, bla bla...and asking how I can speak like this about the brothers. My brother, such a conduct is ludicrous! Only someone who has lost his mind can talk like that, and say: "Go out in Germany and slaughter people in the streets there." How does this benefit Muslims in Pakistan, in Kashmir, in Syria, or in Iraq? Are they helped by this? It just causes damage. It just causes damage.
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It is pure nonsense. Pure nonsense. Anybody with any sense in his head...Actually, it's a good thing that they published this video, because people who were blind have now awakened. And anybody who hasn't awoken yet...I don't know, maybe we should hold a funeral service for his mind...
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