Imam backtracks: "I didn't mean kill ALL Jews"

 

Tunisian imam al-Suhayli made his antisemitic sermon in the Tunisian town of Rades on 30 November 

 An Imam whose inflammatory sermon caused uproar in Tunisia and around the world has been forced to backtrack on his call for all Jews to be killed. As a result of this MEMRI TV clip, a Tunisian minority rights group began proceedings against him in the Tunisian courts for incitement to hatred: (with thanks: Lily).  

According to MEMRI, Imam Ahmed al-Suhayli now says:

 "I never called in this sermon to kill Tunisian Jews. You have the sermon, and you can check and see what I said. This sermon was delivered in the context of the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza. I was talking about a sect of Jews that was mentioned in the Koran. I was talking about their digression from the path and laws of Allah, and their distortion of His words. It reached the point where they slew some of Allah's prophets. That sect, mentioned in the Koran, justly earned the wrath and punishments of Allah. These are Koranic facts. These are the words of Allah.

 "Then I said that this sect still exists in Palestine. These are the extremist, racist Zionists, who have been killing and slaughtering the Palestinian people for decades. They have occupied their lands and trampled their honor. Everybody in the world knows this.

"Then I called upon the Islamic nation to assume its responsibility regarding these continuous attacks. "I absolutely did not call to kill the Jews – I did not call to kill them all. Obviously, some among them are peaceful. There are even some Jews who oppose the policies of the extremist, racist Zionists.

Even in Islam, the Muslim is now allowed to harm these people, because Islam is a religion that preaches tolerance and non-violence, and is against the harming of non-Muslims... "Even though I was talking about the Jews, I meant a sect among them. I was referring to a sect among the Jews – the racist Zionists, who believe themselves to be superior to all other people, and who believe that all the people were created to serve them..."

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