Following are excerpts from a Friday sermon given by Imam Issa Assiri of the Sa'eed bin Jubair Mosque in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, which was posted on the Internet on January 9 and 16, 2015
Issa Assiri: [The papers that published the cartoons] talked about freedom of speech, but after the French journalists were killed for mocking the Prophet Muhammad in their cartoons, what did the papers have to say? What was their response? "The sword is…" Many of these newspapers reconsidered the publishing of the cartoons. Many of them reconsidered their policy regarding such images.
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"The sword is more truthful than the book. Its cutting edge separates sincerity from jest. It is the whiteness of the blade, rather than the blackness of the book's ink, that dismisses any uncertainty or doubt." When they faced death… This is the language these Jewish and Christian infidels understand. This is the only language they understand. [After the attack] they changed their policy.
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When someone curses or mocks the Prophet Muhammad – what should be his punishment? Cursing or mocking the Prophet is an act of apostasy, as all scholars concur, whether it is done seriously or in jest. Anyone who does this, Muslim or infidel, must be killed, even if he repents.
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Dear believers, some notions require correction. For example, what we learned in school about the discovery of America is a lie. According to this story, the Spaniards loved spices, and since there was a shortage of spices in Europe and the price was high, they decided to send a sailor called Columbus westwards, so he would reach India and bring back spices. Only he did not get to India. Instead, he reached a land inhabited by redskins, whom he named "Red Indians." Some time later, another sailor, called Amerigo, reached the same place. This is why America is called America – after that sailor – as if he discovered it. End of story – a fabrication and a lie, which is as far removed from the truth as possible.
What is the truth that they do not want us to know? All that I have just told you is pure nonsense. The truth is that Columbus knew about the "new world" even before he set sail. He also knew that there were Muslims there. He received a personal commission to sail to America from a Crusader queen who hated Islam and the Muslims. She was one of the most prominent Crusader figures in history and she was called Isabella. She harbored deep hatred for Islam. She signed with Muhammad "the Little" the last Muslim king of Andalusia, an agreement in Granada that ended the Muslim presence in Andalusia. That was before this hateful Crusader turned to the American continent, in order to fight the Muslims there. The Muslims were there before Columbus and all the others.
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