Lebanese Cleric Muhammad Al-Jozo on Western Culture

The following are excerpts from an interview with the mufti of Mt. Lebanon, Sheik Muhammad Al-Jozo:

Al-Jozo:What is the basic issue we must discuss? Is it the issue of women? Do we have no future unless we liberate women even from their clothes, veil and moral values? This is nonsense. These are unfounded claims, swiftly refuted. When Western culture sinks to the level of marrying a woman to another woman and a man to another man - this is destructive human and moral corruption. They can never be proud of their culture in light of this depravity and perversion of nature.

The family is the foundation and they are destroying it. You can ask me. I went to study in their countries, I did my doctorate there, and I lived there for a long period, going from capital to capital. Their customs and traditions have nothing to do with us. We must be wary of associating ourselves with them.

Thousands of assaults take place every second in the U.S. and Europe: causing bodily damage and damage to honor. We are accused of terror while thousands are killed every minute over there. Sometimes you can't enter NY because you're in danger from sundown. In our countries security is a thousand times greater than over there. You can't pull out one dollar in front of people. If you have $100 they will kill you for it. On the other hand, over here… you don't feel any danger. That's the difference between them and us.