Yasir Qadhi – Learning History Is Liberating On Palestine

			our own country of America, which of course claims to follow international law and usually says we
should not kill innocent civilians United Kingdom that is also signed on to these united
international treaties during World War Two. During World War Two, they had to intentionally begin
bombing civilian populations. When the tide of war was changing. When Germany was being given the
upper hand, both England and America began the intentional, direct targeted killing of mass civilian
populations in Germany, the cities of Cologne of Hamburg of Dresden were entirely decimated. 10s of
1000s of innocent children and women were intentionally targeted by the Allied Forces. If you were
		

			to ask them, Why are you doing it? They will say they're doing it to us. We have to fight back.
They're the ones bombing London, we have to bomb Dresden. They're the ones bombing England, we have
to go and bomb Kelowna and other places. Dwars sometimes retaliation occurs that is beyond the laws
of the land. And again, let us not forget sisters and brothers the awkward reality. It is an awkward
reality, no justification. But Facts are facts that when the war was shifting, when Germany was
seeming to have the upper hand, our country America spent the equivalent of over $30 billion on the
Manhattan Project. And do you know what the Manhattan Project was? The Manhattan Project was an
		

			intentional research and survey to create the deadliest bomb hitherto unknown to mankind, they
wanted to create the atomic weapon. And the purpose of that weapon was what it wasn't to bomb the
forces of the Germans. It wasn't to annihilate the soldiers. It was intended to create the largest
group of mass civilian casualties that the world had ever seen. groups of scientists, groups of
engineers, groups of physicists that came together and secret locations for years on end, billions
of dollars were spent and the X licit purpose, no peace, no cancer research, no nothing. We want to
create the most effective bomb to kill home civilians. And what happened? How did World War Two come
		

			to an end? We all know this reality. Our country, with our taxpaying dollars, used the largest and
the most effective and destructive weapons known to mankind, the atomic bomb and intentionally
targeted not to the forces of the Germans, not the forces of the Japanese. They intentionally
targeted to civilian cities, Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and over a quarter of a million women and
children, innocent civilians were intentionally targeted the President as it as visors sat in front
of a map, and they debated the pros and cons of which city should be killed, which American went to
jail for that which American ever was court martialed. Which country ever had to apologize for that?
		

			Again, this is not a justification. It is a contextualization those who point fingers those who say,
Why are you killing innocent civilians? We say back to them, how come you did much worse during your
own wars? If you thought you were justified because one of your naval bases, whether it's at Pearl
Harbor, if you thought you were justified in killing a quarter of a million people, I want that
number to sink in 250,000 innocent people and you know, the worst part, they intentionally chose mid
sized cities, they didn't want to large they didn't want to small to send the right message what we
can do the evil nature of wanting to kill 200 and the entire city's wiped out, excuse me, you have
		

			no right to point fingers at another group that might be doing things unethical. I'm not justifying,
again, for the record. I'm not justifying, but I'm sorry, you have no right to point your fingers at
a group that is doing much less than what you yourself have done in response to much worse that was
ever done unto you history sisters and brothers makes you powerful history educates you. And if you
know your facts, and you know your realities, no one can defeat you in a debate. The purpose once
again is not to justify, but merely remind us that those people who are most eager to point fingers
are usually the most guilty of having done the same crimes. As for me, I have no qualms stating
		

			loudly and clearly that the Quran teaches us the Sunnah teaches us the CRO teaches us that the
default is that during times of war, were supposed to protect the lives of the innocent, but I
merely educate I merely push back and say, How come you are selective in applying these rules
throwing them in our faces which we acknowledge these are legitimate rules when you yourselves don't
seem to care about the lives of 2 million innocent civilians whereas your own suppose that care
where's your soul and alleged concern for the world?
		

			men and children when they belong to another ethnicity, and another religious group. Muslims, always
remember, always remember this reality in this land. You don't need to be a Muslim to sympathize
with one side. As I said, if the war was somewhat similar, we could understand the bias of each
side. But there is no similarity. The fact of the matter is, every neutral person who examines the
reality of the situation will come to the same conclusion. Always, quote, neutral experts, and make
sure you know these quotes. One of the greatest icons of our century somebody whom the globe
admires, is Nelson Mandela, Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in isolation 27 years because he refused
		

			to sign a paper that said, because of the color of my skin, not equal to you. 27 years he was in
isolation. I visited his self it is smaller than this small little box that I'm in, I visited his
cell and I stood there he had a small window for 27 years, that was his outer reality to the world.
He refused as a man of conscience to say I am lesser of a human being. And when he was in jail, this
country of ours and the United Kingdom and Canada and Australia all consider him a terrorist. You
should know this. Our country considered Nelson Mandela to be a terrorist only when he was released
and the tide of public tide was changed was he welcomed as a freedom fighter was he welcomed as
		

			somebody who deserves the Nobel Peace Prize and so on and so forth? Nelson Mandela was a ardent
supporter of the Palestinian cause multiple times he would speak out and in support of our
Palestinian brothers and sisters. And he said, and I quote, that the treatment of the Palestinians
is the worst moral crises of our times. He said this after being in jail 27 years after fighting the
Apartheid South African regime. He said the Palestinian plight is the worst moral crisis of our art
of our own times. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the second most prevalent African freedom fighter,
Desmond Tutu is the highest ranking member of the Catholic Church. He's passed away now, widely
		

			celebrated, widely known to be a freedom fighter. Also, having been in jail also fought apartheid,
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, visited Palestine multiple times. In a famous interview in the 80s, with
the most famous German journalist alive at the time, David Frost, you can find it on YouTube, David
Frost wanted to complain to Desmond Tutu. How come you can describe Israel as an apartheid state?
That's not fair. You shouldn't describe Israel as an apartheid state. It's not that bad. Desmond
Tutu responded back to him that actually listen to this as on YouTube. Actually, in some aspects,
Palestinians are treated worse than us black South Africans were in some aspects, it is worse than
		

			an apartheid state that I have lived through. This is from Desmond Tutu. Are you going to accuse him
of being anti Semite? Are you gonna accuse them of being pro Palestinian because he was Muslim, he's
a barge pitcher from the Catholic Church. He's not a Muslim, but he has lived through apartheid, he
seen the realities of hate. And now he's experienced it firsthand, the grandson of Nelson Mandela
also visited Palestine. And he wrote an op ed, which is published in an Israeli newspaper, the high
rates and he wrote an op ed, and he said that what I have seen here is worst than the apartheid that
I have experienced growing up. This is the grandson of Nelson Mandela, it is worse than the
		

			apartheid I've experienced growing up sisters and brothers, you don't need to be a Muslim to
recognize the inhumanity of the situation. No, your people know your quotes. Our own president Jimmy
Carter, he visited those lands. And after he left office, he's still alive. Now. After he left
office, he wrote a book. Do you know what the title of the book is? Peace, not apartheid. Peace, not
apartheid. That is the title of the book, our president, are you going to accuse him he's actually a
Christian believer. He's actually a supporter of the faith of Christianity. He's a known person who
loves his his faith and tradition, he's on a Muslim. And yet, when he visited, he said, We cannot
		

			move forward with this apartheid regime. And he himself acknowledged that has up Gaza is the largest
open air prison in the world today, the largest open air prison in the world today. And I can quote
you on and on human rights, Amnesty International, on and on, but you know what the problem is
sisters and brothers, the awkward reality. Do you know what the root of the problem is? It's not
religion. Frankly, it's not even fully political. The brutal and raw fact of the matter is that so
many people on our side of the world in spite of our education, in spite of our achievements, in
spite of we're living in such a enlightened era, so many people are still completely and totally wed
		

			to the notion of the superiority of their own race.
		

			For over that of other people, the root of the problem, frankly, is a racist outlook on the
Palestinians and the Arabs and the Muslims. The root of the problem is the superiority complex that
they don't view Palestinian blood and our blood and Muslim blood to be equal to their own. And
therefore, when they see all that is happening, when they see all of the tactics, their hearts do
not stir, there is no emotion because they view themselves and their race and their faith as being
more human than that of others. And this is what we see around us when we listen to interviews, when
we see the tweets when we see the endorsements from politicians, subhanAllah sisters and brothers.
		

			You know, when we criticize Israeli policy, when we criticize aspects of what is happening there, we
are accused of anti semitism, we are accused or you guys are anti semitic, I will acknowledge
rarely, this criticism is true. I will acknowledge some times some clerics and some people use a
language that is not appropriate. And they talk about Jewish people all together. And I say no, our
problem is not with Jewish people. It is not with Christian people. Our problem is with Zionism, in
our lands of Islam, Jews and Christians lived peacefully they lived as neighbors as full citizens
have an equal opportunity with everybody. Our problem is not with people of another faith. Our
		

			problem is with policies. So I admit once in a while you will find a cleric you'll find somebody who
uses language that is not correct, and there is an element of anti semitism. However, let us flip
the script. Let us flip the script. You say we are anti semitic when we point out problems with
Israel. Let me flip the script. How about your Islamophobia when you cut your eyes and paint all
Palestinians in particular, right? How about your hatred of Islam, when you describe everybody in
that region with derogatory terms, our own president, some of the most powerful people in Congress,
some of the most influential politicians, the language they use is the language of genocide. It is
		

			the language of dehumanization, Israel's minister called all Palestinians, beasts and animals, that
is not the language of humanity. That is the language of genocide, you are calling for all out
genocide, when you say an entire population is subhuman. If you look at the language that is used,
they don't deserve to live, we will annihilate all of them. Again, this isn't a few people that did
what you consider a crime. If that was your call, I at least see where you're coming from. But when
you extrapolate from 510 2050 people, and you say all 2 million people don't deserve to live, they
are not fully equal. When you bring into their fact their faith when you bring in their religion,
		

			and you say they should be given * as the pseudo intellectual Jordan Peterson said he literally
tweeted in a ton Yahoo give them to help them is who all Palestinians, we see the reality of their
hatred. It's not about truth and justice. It is frankly about a superiority complex. They literally
believe they are better than everybody else. And therefore the life of a Palestinian the life of an
out of the life of a Muslim in their eyes is not the same as their own lives.