by Mike Opelka, The Blaze — 11/6/2013
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| "Raise your hands if you support stoning for adultery and amputation for thieves!" |
Video taken at a Norwegian Islamic conference in March appears to show self-described “normal” Muslims approving of stoning adulterers and other “punishment described in the Koran,” as well as men and women sitting separately. The participants — and especially the speaker — seem to take the stance that such positions are not “radical.”
The video was first publicized by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) in May and then lightly covered by various blogs in the past week.
The video was first publicized by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) in May and then lightly covered by various blogs in the past week.
For three days in March of this year, thousands of Muslims attended a conference in Oslo, Norway, organized by Islam Net. During the event, a question about the media’s treatment of Muslims on topics like separation of men and women and the treatment of gays, was posed by an audience member. The event’s moderator and organizer, Fahad Qureshi, addressed the question to a room packed with an estimated 1,500 people.
In his response, Qureshi surveyed the crowd about their feelings on issues often associated with the more radical segments of Islam, including topics like separating men and women, stoning of gays, and the stoning of women believed to be unfaithful.
The questioning continued, “How many of you agree that the punishment described in the Koran and sunna – whether it’s death, whether it is stoning for adultery, whatever it is, if it’s s from Allah and his messenger – that is the best punishment ever possible for humankind – and that is what we should apply in the world? Who agrees with that?”
Again, the vote was virtually unanimous.
“Are you all radical extremists? … No one.”
After getting nearly unanimous agreement on stoning of gays and adulterous women, Qureshi asked: “How many of you go to the normal Sunni mosques?”
Almost every hand in the room was raised in response.
“So what’s the politicians gonna say now?” Qureshi asked in response. “What’s the media gonna say now? That we’re all extremists?”
As this video surfaced, Islam Net has also just released the first of four videos in a series titled, Political Participation and Western Muslims. According to the YouTube posting, Islam Net describes the 67-minute long lecture by saying, “This episode explains why we must give sovereignty to Allah and that Islam also includes the political system.”
The video is instructional in nature. It aims to explain how Muslims can gain a foothold in the Parliament and represent the beliefs and principles of Islam. The video series is directed and delivered by Dr al-Haddad, who currently serves as a judge at the Islamic Sharia Council in London.
TheBlaze has reached out to Fahad Qureshi for clarification on some of the statements he made in the March video and regarding the video that instructs Muslim citizens of various countries to “give sovereignty to Allah.” If Mr. Qureshi responds, we will update this story.