Lebanese Cleric Muhammad Al-Jozo: Muslims Had Nothing to Do with 9/11

The following are excerpts from an interview with the Mufti of Mt. Lebanon Sheik Muhammad Al-Jozo, aired by Nile Culture TV on April 19, 2005.

Sheik Muhammad Al-Jozo: These days, we are focusing on dialogue with the other, because of accusations directed at us, which are nothing new. These are old accusations, from before 9/11. They have been in the background of the life of Westerners since Crusader times. The orientalists have written a lot about Islam and have tried to distort it for a long time. Therefore, we must not base our current positions on what happened on September 11. Even before 9/11, the US was accusing us of terrorism. It is well known that the US…

Interviewer: Was 9/11… Was this the last nail…?

Sheik Muhammad Al-Jozo: As my colleague said, the Muslims had nothing to do with this. Researchers and aviation experts have written that such an operation required well-trained people. The Muslims whose names were mentioned were not trained to a level allowing to fly such huge planes. Four planes taking off simultaneously from American airports – this is a huge operation that was planned internationally, and not by boys, who trained to fly planes as amateurs.

These people tried to pin this thing on us, and unfortunately, we took a defensive position, as if acknowledging that we had done this thing. Obviously, this was very bad, because the (Islamic) nation is currently weak, while those who accuse us are the strong ones. They speak the language of power, while we speak the language of weakness. Therefore, we try to defend ourselves, thinking that one of these days they will accept our point of view. But because these people are hostile towards us, it is impossible that they will ever try to understand us properly.