Saudi Cleric Advocates Offensive Jihad and Death for Apostasy: Liberalism and Coexistence Null and Void

Saudi cleric Sheikh Ayman Al-Anqari cited various hadiths in support of his claims that "coexistence in the sense of freedom of religion... is null and void" and that there are two kinds of Jihad: offensive Jihad and defensive Jihad. The punishment for apostasy, he said, "is one of the greatest punishments in Islam." Al-Anqari's lesson aired on the Saudi Al-Ahwaz TV channel on February 16.

Ayman Al-Anqari: "The problem with the issue of coexistence lies in its distortion to the point that it involves distortion of the Islamic rules. For example, they tell you that coexistence means freedom of religion. You are supposed to let people be heretics, deny the existence of Allah, curse Allah, curse His Prophet, and curse Islam. This is called liberalism and freedom of religion. Or take, for example, the abolition of the punishment for apostasy. They say that the punishment for apostasy should be abolished because it runs counter to coexistence. The punishment for apostasy is immutable, and it is one of the greatest punishments in Islam. According to the hadith narrated by Ibn Abbas in the Bukhari compilation, the Prophet Muhammad said: 'Whoever changes his religion – kill him.' Therefore, coexistence in the sense of freedom of religion, heresy, denying the existence of Allah, and the rejection of the punishment for apostasy in Islam as something that runs counter to the freedom to choose one's religion – all this is null and void.

"Coexistence in this sense is null and void, rejected, and unacceptable. In addition, denial of the notion of offensive jihad is propagated by the defeatist, rationalist, modern school of thought. They tell you that there is only defensive jihad in Islam. No. The texts in the Quran and the Sunna mention two kinds of jihad: offensive jihad, when [Muslims] have the ability to wage it, and defensive jihad. Allah said: 'Fight the ones who do not believe in Allah nor in the Last Day.' Allah made fighting and jihad contingent upon the existence of heresy. According to the hadith narrated by Buraida in the Muslim compilation, the Prophet Muhammad said: 'Raid for the sake of Allah, fight those who reject Allah.' Allah made fighting contingent upon the existence of heresy. This means offensive fighting – of course only under certain conditions, like the ability to do so, for example."