Following are excerpts from an interview with Saudi Journalist Hani Naqashbandi, which aired on Future TV on February 6, 2007.
Hani Naqashbandi: I grew up in a society that taught me Allah is a tormentor.Interviewer: A tormentor?
Hani Naqashbandi: In the full sense of the word. It taught me that Allah punishes and never forgives. He punishes, punishes, and punishes, and only eventually will decide whether to forgive you or not.Interviewer: I feel like running away...
Hani Naqashbandi: Let's leave together. Allah describes Himself as Compassionate and Merciful, in all religions. Allah represents, first and foremost, love. We did not learn that Allah is love, we learned, from childhood... To this day, I hate milk, because my mother would say: "Drink your milk, or else Allah will be made at you." She didn’t say Allah loves me. Let Him love me first.