Subscribe Today
Request a Clip
On September 14, 2019 Turkish scholar and journalist Kadir Akaras delivered a speech at the Islamic Unity Congress, which was held in Ankara by the Center for Islamic Union Research. Akaras prayed for the Palestinian martyrs and leaders who he said have sustained the Palestinian cause to this day, and he criticized Muslims and Muslim leaders who he said had found Islam to be "inadequate" and attempted to complete it with socialism, nationalism, democracy, liberalism, or Western technology and culture. Praising Hamas and Hizbullah for waging Jihad against Israel, Akaras told his audience that since they are not participating in the Jihad, they have no right to tell Hamas and Hizbullah how to fight Israel. In addition, Akaras claimed that Israel is at its weakest point in history, and he urged his audience to pray for Hamas, Hizbullah, and the Islamic resistance and to provide them with money for weapons and ammunition. Akaras' speech was streamed live on the Center for Islamic Union Research's YouTube channel. Akaras is the General Director of the Ehli Beyt Scholars Association, an Istanbul-based Jaafari Shiite organization, and the Editor-in-Chief of Kible, a Turkish-language magazine.
Kadir Akaras: First, I want to request that we remember our martyrs who have sustained the Palestine cause for a century and carried it to this day – the Ahmed Yasins, the [Abdel Aziz] Al-Rantisis, the Abbas Al-Musawis, the Imad Mughniyahs, and all the martyrs – by saying a prayer of Al-Fatiha, and then I will speak.
[…]
Towards the end of the 1960s in Turkey, under the pioneership of the late [Necmettin] Erbakan, people started talking about an “Islamic awakening.”
[…]
But unfortunately, because in the back of our minds we found Islam to be inadequate, we tried to complete what we saw as Islam’s deficient aspects by importing some other things – some of us with nationalism, some of us with democracy, some of us with liberalism, and some of us with Western technology and culture.
[…]
Thinking this way, these combative Muslims were unable to take examples of battle from Islam, as if there is not spirit of Jihad and battle in Islam. For this reason, they saw socialism as a springboard against capitalism and imperialism, and they sustained their battles within a socialist framework.
[…]
The Islamic methods of battle, taken from the Sunnah of the Prophet and from Karbala, are starting to be learned. The clearest examples of this are Hamas in Palestine and Hizbullah in Lebanon. They formed the frontline of the resistance. Today, whether we like it or not… My friends, my brothers, while we are here in five-star hotels talking about Palestine, our brothers from Hamas and Hizbullah are waiting behind missiles, with triggers in their hands. They are in a war zone, and they have sustained this war for years, defending Palestine against the occupation forces.
[…]
Today, to protect itself, [Israel] was forced to build a wall around itself. The Iron Dome does not protect it. When all of the imperialist powers come together right now, Israel is in danger. This treacherous document called “The Deal of the Century,” which they try to make us swallow, exists to protect Israel. Today, Israel is fighting for its existence. Palestine is fighting – not for its existence, but to return home.
[…]
[The Quran says:] “If you are patient and fear Allah…” If this condition is met… Today, when we look at Hamas and Hizbullah, when we look at the vanguard units of the resistance front… [The Quran says that] Allah favors the mujahideen over those who remain behind. They are the mujahideen and we are those who remain behind. We are sitting here. They are superior to us. We cannot, form our ivory towers, pontificate to them or show them the way, or be so arrogant as to teach them the method of doing battle.
[…]
In the past, when someone said “Palestine,” you would think of children throwing rocks and using slingshots. Now you think of missiles. Now you think of drone attacks, and of how Merkava tanks are sent flying into the air. The resistance is very strong right now, and Israel is at its weakest point in history. For this reason, may our statesmen and politicians absolutely not enter into a policy of establishing friendship with this frayed string, because Israel is losing. The end of its life is coming. You must see this. Those who do not see this [say]: “Israel and America are very strong.” They are not [strong] anymore. They are not. Their strength is an exaggerated strength that we attribute to them in our hearts, spirits, and minds. This is what they want.
[…]
First, let’s support our mujahideen friends on the frontline. Up until today, how much money for bullets and weapons have we sent to the Palestinian cause, to the resistance? Our government may not send [any]. Governments have their own policies. We are not concerned with that. The Palestinian cause is not a cause that is cheap enough to be left to governments. If it had been left up to governments, there would be no such thing as Palestine. If there is [such a thing] now, it is because of the nations’ spirit of resistance. For this reason, we should give our friends on the frontline space, [both] in our prayers and in our pockets.
[…]
Latest Clips
