Mohammed Hijab – Isis Tried to Kill Me – Interview With Extremely British Muslim

			So
		

			I'm here with obviously the main man himself.
		

			Obviously, if you guys watch TV, which I don't, I'll be honest with you.
		

			But you want to show what was called extremely British Muslims. What was your
		

			most about tell us?
		

			Well,
		

			originally, the concept was that this film crew come to Birmingham. And what they wanted to do was
they wanted to get inside of a machine and see how things work and what they want to see normal
Muslims. So they came to mosque in my locality, I ended up bumping into them. And they took a liking
to me, we had a laugh and a joke. And then they decided that following a person's journey is gonna
be more interesting than just just the masjid. You know what I mean? So that's how I got involved.
And then I got interviewed involved as well. So let me ask you now when it comes to like, the,
because you went to Burma, you went to Bangladesh, and yeah.
		

			So tell me, you explained it to me before how you think that's potentially the worst thing you ever
slug for law? That's just
		

			desperation, hunger.
		

			You know, when you go to when you go to work with the Iraqi, or the Syrians, they look like me and
you? Yeah, they dress lightly and you care, because they they come from they come from, you know, a
nice place with nice jobs. Unfortunately, you know,
		

			what, I'll tell you see, with the Syrians in Iraq is the point I'm trying to make, they look no
different. So you can't physically see the hunger. But with the Rohingya people, in India, people
there from Burma right now,
		

			for one ones that we work with are the ones that have left Burma, and they've come into Bangladesh,
because they share a border. But all of these people that we met, they had lost family members. You
know, there was there was people, their wives had been killed, and the babies had been caught out of
their stomachs. I met 14 year old girls like groups, and they were talking about the gang rapes that
they had been through disaster. These, these are Muslim people, these are Muslim people. And you can
see their bones their faces are
		

			farmers, a Buddhist majority countries now, by 8%. Bonus.
		

			What I find really interesting is that because we were talking about terrorism, and
		

			how, first of all, there's not that much coverage. Yeah, this is not being referred to as terrorism.
We don't say that. But as terrorists.
		

			This is why they're almost like forgotten people. Okay. Do you know what I mean? Like you mentioned
Syria, everybody's on a, you could walk into a hole of 5000 Muslims, and you could say, who's done
something for Syria? Everyone will put their hand up. Right. You can say who's done something for
Palestine? They'll put two hands up. What can you tell me about the Rohingya? What can you tell me
about the most needy people in the world right now? Forget needy Muslims, most needy people in the
world, right. The most affordable period in the world right now, the most oppressed people in the
world right now? What can you tell me about them? And what have you done for them? have their hands
		

			go? Right? Do you know what I mean? It's all almost like, Syria, and Palestine especially has become
a fashion. Right. Everybody's quick to get the flags out to get the marches there even and and then
what about everybody else? Like you look with Palestine, we have this issue, that what was our issue
with Palestine, that
		

			Israelis are treated like, blood is worth more than the Palestinians? That's our issue, isn't it?
But then also as Muslims, are we not doing the same? Do we not see Palestinian blood as worth more
than gone? And let me not see Syrian blood with more than, you know?
		

			What's going on? Yeah, exactly. So you know, we need to be willing to do whatever we can, but also,
you know, going back to this idea of like, okay, the Muslims are terrorists, and they're the only
terrorists in the world. You've heard this quote, that not all terrorists are Muslim, or not all
terrorists are Muslim. But not all. Not all Muslims are terrorists below terrorism was
		

			quite a generalization was kind of a fear, but
		

			why bother with the service of Brahma, Buddhists, Christians, atheists, Hindus, you got, you know,
good and bad in absolutely everything, but you can't have
		

			a look, let me let me tell you some interesting you know, the people on that side of the world here,
the people
		

			like here
		

			Okay, ISIS, the terrorists, and they're doing these terrorists, the see ISIS and the far right here.
They have the same mentality, right? Because, look, they both believe in the same thing. They both
believe that Islam is extreme and radical.
		

			And these guys say that's what it is. It's only them. I don't think that you don't think that any
normal Muslim does not think that all these racist guys on this side, they think that you know,
these ISIS guys, they think that now these are on this side, something will happen. From one person
from religion will do something, and they'll blame the whole religion. I've never encountered a
time. I really haven't seen any right wing, let alone a far right wing news agency condemning the
Buddhist terrorism Burma. I've never heard of it. Exactly. It's not focused on opponents. Not at
all. It's not emphasized. But what's interesting is these guys on this side, and I've been there,
		

			ISIS guys, yeah, they do the exact same thing, when a country will do something, and now everybody
in that country is this one enemy? Do you know what I mean? So the British government will go and
bomb them. Yeah. But now they're saying that all British people, all the civilians are the same. So
me and Jude are no different to the person that's dropping the bomb on the head, or the person
that's made that decision. And we're all guilty of that collective guilt. Yes, yes. Yes. So it
happens on both sides. Yeah. But you see, they're the extremists on this side of deadly extremist on
that side. And they both have the same ideologies. And it's innocent people like us in the middle
		

			that get caught up in it. Now this for a lot of Western people looks like a might be an I like, this
is what they pictured the typical ISIS guy to look like look, the hair, the beard, the fold all of
that.
		

			And I get a whole bunch of abuse online. Genuine, I do my videos about charity, you always have
those racists that are not.
		

			And they want to call you a terrorist and all of this sort of stuff. But then why is it that the guy
that looks like this is the guy that's on the front line against the general army? And where are
these guys these guys that are calling me this than the other? What are they doing? Right,
gentlemen? So we're the biggest threat. I mean, we're a big threat to them. They don't like us ISIS,
they killed more Muslims and non Muslims. I am a target for them. I've been a target for them I've
survived bombs three times.
		

			Three times Yay. But we've been working in Iraq they don't care they don't care about you being with
them. They don't care we'll
		

			see for them it's not the talk about Sharia. For them they've got their own Sharia they've got they
own
		

			one of my colleagues was held by them for three years you know what I mean? And when he came out as
a Muslim as well as a Muslim is a rocky rocky just like them is Muslim. They don't care about Sony
just like them No. And then when he says to them, though, this is
		

			real Yeah, you know, I'm here this is this is Yeah.
		

			They've got their own
		

			and it's incredible to represent us now on the media these guys never tell you that the mainstream
you know true puritanical Islam this actual orthodoxy? Yeah.
		

			Well, what would you now as a final quote, sort of statement like most people to do going back to
Burma, because maybe you're gonna do some inshallah things inshallah. We have. Yeah, well, we're
gonna do you have to tell us, tell us tell us some things we can practically do in the future child
love? Well, we're thinking of, you know, like, any problem in the world here. Any problem in the
world? The overall solution is maybe sort of like, you know, a political one. Okay. Okay. Just stop
bombing them, stop terrorizing them, stop oppressing them. If it was that easy, then, you know, we
have no violence or problems in the world isn't so as humanitarians as humans and as Muslims, all we
		

			can do is what we can do the best that we can do, because that's what will be question for you know,
it's interesting, I'll tell you in Syria a Syrian woman
		

			we went there just like you're about to come with me now.
		

			You or anybody watching this right get this feeling in their heart now that if I could say anything
to somebody in Syria or the India people right now, it'd be a message of summer of you know, where
we do have we pray for you feel sorry for you. Don't worry is gonna get back. So we do this and then
we gave them these messages. And there's one old woman she stood up and she just laughed at us.
		

			like, Yo, I don't speak Arabic. Somebody translate What is she saying? She says, look,
		

			you feel sorry for us. We feel sorry for you making the wall for us. I make the loss. Because I wake
up every single day and I know what my test is like, you know, we see our
		

			You know, families, their legs are blown off, their arms are blown off. We live in a war zone, we
don't have food, we don't have water. We don't have safety, no education, no hospitals, we're aware
of all of this, we only have one thing. And the only one thing that we have is this one word, which
is Alhamdulillah. And that word, no matter which country that I went to 1520 countries, everybody's
suffering in different ways. They all are only left with one thing. And that one thing was
Alhamdulillah. But then she explained to me that when you've got this one thing, when you've got
this humbling love, and you've got a mind, you've got everything. So she goes, why are you feeling
		

			sorry? For me? I feel sorry for you know, talking about my tests, let's talk about your tests. So
you wake up with wealth, health, safety, education, opportunities, a roof over your head, family,
all of this sort of stuff. Do you know, do you not know that that's a test? Do you not know that
that's a bigger test? Do you not know that you're going to be questioned for this? How are you using
your health are using your wealth, your safety, the opportunity, your skill set? my skill set? How
are we using this to benefit the oma? How are we using this to benefit those that are being
oppressed? Are we forgetting about them, so you don't feel sorry for us go feel sorry for yourself,
		

			go work on yourself, and do your own test. And I only that point, it made me realize that you know
what I fought, I'm here for them. But I'm here for myself, first and foremost, I'm here for myself,
because I'm going to be questioned about this, these guys are my responsibility. You know what I
mean? So I still do feel bad for them, and I go there, but just as bad as I feel for them, I feel
for myself, and now it made me change everything. It's not going there and giving people stuff, it's
actually going they're giving people stuff, and you'll see this for yourself, or thanking them,
we're gonna give them food. And we're gonna thank them for the opportunity.
		

			Because in the bigger picture, in the long run face, you know what we're helping out there. They're
doing it for that day, these guys are so in our office.
		

			So when we go the end, we do the work and you'll see the way that we work. So going through just to
let the viewers know, what we're planning on doing is a trip to, to Bangladesh. So we're gonna go to
Bangladesh, we're gonna go to the Burma border. And the reason that we're gonna go there is because
like, in the 15, to 20 countries that I've worked, this is by far the worst thing I ever saw. People
fighting over a loaf of bread. I was giving the sisters, the food packs, and they sit there and
they're crying. Why? Why are you crying? I'm giving you food said, you're gonna see how am I gonna
get this to my home, I'll get robbed on the way I'll get eaten because everybody's hungry. And
		

			everybody's starving, and everybody's desperate. So I had to pick up that bag and leave with her and
walk her to her family. And on the way people did gather around me and everything. But you know, I'm
a lot bigger than she was, you're a lot bigger than I am. So that's gonna come in handy. But
		

			even when we're giving people food, they're scared, how am I gonna get this home, because the other
people are so hungry, that the people are fighting over food. These are people that we call our
brothers and sisters. You know, I mean, so we have to go back. And another thing, look, we gave one
of the ladies a pair of glasses, and she was like, Wow, now I can finally read the grant. While
feeling that was, you know, I mean, so we're gonna go there, we'll do as much as we can. But what we
don't want them out on is if they need food anyway. But we want them to have that Ramadan, and we
want them to have that eat as well. You know what I mean? So we're gonna go out, then we're gonna
		

			go, we're gonna keep everyone updated, leave everybody updated, we're gonna get into the planning
right now. And we're over the next week or two, with our full plan. And we let people know how they
can get involved. This is only, you know, successful if we get as many people involved as possible.
And the beauty of it is, usually people they get a charity, they put it into a pocket, and they
don't see again, Alhamdulillah that given the charity here, but with this, they're going to give it
to you, they're going to see you go there, and physically do it yourself.
		

			Everything is going to be absolutely documented, and tried to guarantee everything, and we're going
to plan it ourselves. So it's not like we're going through, you know, a third party or how they want
to do it, nor we're going to do it ourselves. So you know, we just need as many people as possible,
inshallah, to come and gain full support, and support them because we really want to go out, I don't
know, I'm talking about 100 or 1000. I'm hoping we can help a million people.
		

			For those of you,
		

			hopefully, you guys, you would have taken these two things. The fact that really and truly, people
in our Muslim community, all around the world are really, really suffering. And we do need to be
first of all aware of that reality people in Burma, for example, people might not even know who they
are. I mean, a lot of us don't even know I don't know, I'll be honest with you, until fairly
recently, exactly what they were and exactly what their plight was. So we have to be very aware and
then we have to, like kind of like, raise awareness and now
		

			To this whole narrative, this meta narrative of there being, let's say, Muslim terrorists or, or
terrorism, Muslims, this can only be combated when you look at oppression done against Muslims, by
people of other faiths. And this is an ample example of that you have a Buddhist majority country
like Burma oppressing. And even to be honest with the Western commentators, I say this is the
biggest oppression of any minority group anywhere. And so they're oppressing this minority, this
minority group or India, the refugee crisis is an incredible one. The food crisis is incredible. And
this is seen as genocide. So this is no doubt terrorism, this Buddhist terrorism, but we don't fall
		

			into the same problem or the same trap as a lot of people do. Which is to blame Buddhism, Buddhism
is clearly a pacifist type religion is not really a it's not a non peaceful religions as a peaceful
religion. But these political people have changed the way we see how we kind of understand things.
So the meta narrative can only be combated when we understand the plight of Muslims. And when we see
that around the world, and when we see that other people of other faiths can also have a propensity
to to oppress people. So with this Java guys, we will keep you guys informed with what we're doing.
		

			And I hope you guys can stay with us and watch this space and we'll keep you guys informed.