Following are excerpts from a public address delivered by Indian cleric Ashraf Mohamedy, which aired on Peace TV on April 22, 2008:
Ashraf Mohamedy: There are two twin sisters who are equally identical and equally good looking, and they are walking down the street. At the corner there is a hooligan waiting for a catch, waiting to tease someone. One of the sisters is putting on the Islamic hijab, that is, covering herself completely, except for the face and the hands up to the wrist, and the other sister is dressed in a miniskirt. Who is the hooligan going to tease – the sister in the hijab or the one in the miniskirt? Of course he will tease the sister in the miniskirt!
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Allah has instructed us to follow the hijab, so that women can be saved from rape and molestation. In Islam, there is capital punishment for the rapist. Whenever we say this to non-Muslim brothers, they react by saying that Islam is a cruel law, that it is a barbaric law. But believe me, Islamic law gets results. We have asked a question to several people. We say that if someone, God forbid, rapes your sister, rapes your wife, rapes your daughter – and you are made the judge, and if the rapist is brought before you, you are meant to give punishment – what would you do? Most of the people said: "We will put him to death." Some went to the extent of saying that we will torture him to death. When it comes to your sisters and your daughters, you want to put the rapist to death. Then why do you have double standards when Islam is concerned?
Western society, in the name of women's liberalization, has exploited the body of the woman, has degraded her soul, and has deprived her of her honor. They have converted women into mistresses, concubines, and society butterflies, who are mere tools in the hands of sex marketers and pleasure seekers. In America, according to statistics of the FBI, in 1990, the cases of rape were 1,750, and later on, 1,900. The Americans got a bit bolder. The latest statistics, of 1996, say that now the rate has gone up to 2,117 rapes taking place every day.
If the Islamic Shari'a is applied in America, if every man, whenever he sees a woman, would lower his gaze, if every woman is asked to cover herself completely, except for the face and hands up to the wrist, and if there is capital punishment for the rapist – will the rate of crime go up, remain the same, or come down in America? Of course it will come down! Islam gives dignity and protection to the women in Islam, and that is just the reason why Islam has prescribed the hijab.
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Another misconception among non-Muslim brothers and sisters is that Muslims are fundamentalists and terrorists. They say and allege that you are terrorists and fundamentalists. Let's analyze the meaning of fundamentalism. If a person wants to be a good doctor, then he should know, he should follow, and should practice the teachings of medicine. In other words, he should be a fundamentalist in the field of medicine. If a person wants to be a very good scientist, he should know, he should follow, and he should practice the teachings of science. In other words, he should be a fundamentalist in the field of science. Similarly, if a person wants to be a good mathematician, he should know, he should follow, and he should practice the teachings of mathematics. In other words, he should be fundamentalist in the field of mathematics. We cannot paint all fundamentalists with the same brush, for a fundamentalist robber causes harm to the society, and that is highly disagreed upon. That is highly irresponsible. But at the same time, a fundamentalist doctor causes good in society. He cures and he heals, and he is much desired by society. I am proud to be a fundamentalist Muslim, because I know, I follow, and I strive to practice the teachings of Islam. Every Muslim should be proud to be a fundamentalist Muslim. That is because none of the teachings of Islam causes any harm to society. On the contrary, it causes.... it gives benefits to society. On the basis of this knowledge, every Muslim should be proud to be a fundamentalist Muslim.
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I would stress that every Muslim should be a terrorist. I repeat: Every Muslim should be a terrorist. A terrorist is a person who terrifies others, who terrorizes others. That is precisely the reason we have the police. As soon as the robber sees the policeman, he is terrified, he is terrorized. Similarly, the Muslims should terrorize the anti-social elements in society. He should terrorize the robber, the decoy, the rapist. I know that "terrorist" is taken as a concept of a person who terrorizes the common man. But we Muslims should be terrorists for the anti-social elements in society.