According to Shiplu Miah of MEND, Owen Jones is to speak at their forthcoming conference on 4 April 2015:
He says:
Journalist Owen Jones has confirmed to speak at MEND’s ‘Islam in Britain’ conference in London on Saturday 4th of April.
He will be joining Sh. Yasir Qadhi, Sh. Zahir Mahmood, Sh. Abu Eesa Niamatullah, and many others.
If you haven’t already bought your ticket for the conference, you can purchase them here at the 50% discounted rate of just £5:
HP update – this appears to be the correct link at present:
http://mend.org.uk/event/london-daytime-conference-4th-april/
The conference is being hosted by those lovely Quakers at Friends House. That, as readers will appreciate, is an almost certain guarantee that the speakers will be hate preachers, dedicated to destroy everything that Quakerism supposedly stands for.
Indeed, that is the case.
Niamatullah you know about. Qadhi we’ve covered too, recently and in the past. We know that he doesn’t think women should go to work, for example. At one point he recommended that his followers read a book called The Hoax of the Holocaust,
Let’s look at a couple of other views expressed by Qadhi.
MEND is supposedly an organisation which fights against Islamophobia. So obviously, Qadhi is a perfect choice of speaker. Here he is on the Shia:
With regard to the Shiites, really they are the most lying sect of Islam. In other words, it is a part of their religion… that they are allowed to lie…. They have an ascription to one of their Imams – “Lying is nine tenths of this religion”. Now by the way I’m speaking of their religion that is based on certain knowledge. I have their main book…I have looked over it, I have read their chapters. I’m not taking this from what the Shiites say. The Shiites are allowed to lie. It is their religion to lie. Ok. Any person who knows the Shiites knows this. 90% of their own religion, by their own statement, is lies. They are allowed to lie… so don’t go and ask Shiites what they believe – go straight to their source books. Well, actually right now, you shouldn’t be reading their books…
Qadhi describes Shi’ism as “a clear kufaar”. Which is, you know, a bit irresponsible during a period in which sectarian attacks on Shia are taking place all around the world, and the Middle East is convulsed by what is, in effect, a Sunni-Shia civil war.
Mehdi Hasan doesn’t like Qadhi one bit:
Scanning the names of the various presenters and guests highlighted in the Quilliam alert, one name in particular set off alarm bells in my mind: Yasir Qadhi.
“Shaykh” Qadhi is a Texas-born Sunni Muslim preacher of Indo-Pak origin and a graduate of the Wahhabi-dominated Islamic University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia.
He is also – how should I put this? – not a fan of the one in five Muslims across the world who call themselves Shias. His anti-Shia diatribes are around on the web for all to hear.
Here are some highlights:
“With regard to the Shias, really they are the most lying sect of Islam. In other words, it is a part of their religion.”
“The Shias are allowed to lie. It is their religion to lie.”
“Shism is filth … They allow prostitution … they allow lying.”
“Beware of them [the Shias] and avoid them.”
“Any Muslim that knows of their [Shia] beliefs, he should have pure anger and hatred … ”
“Anyone who believes in those [Shia] beliefs is a kafir.”
Now, if these aren’t clear examples of hate speech , then I am not sure what is.
I do find it odd, in an era of such depressingly unprecedented Sunni-Shia bloodletting and internecine strife, that such a bigoted, intolerant and sectarian individual turns out to be a regular and prominent speaker on Britain’s Islam Channel.
Owen Jones might not have a problem appearing on a speaking tour with a man who says things like this about Muslims. But I would really rather hope he’d have an issue with the following:
“In our own generation, for those who are slightly older, maybe in the high 20s early 30s, maybe not that old … for those who have been around for a little bit older than those who are 18, 19, look at how this own society and culture has evolved in the way it looks at homosexuals.
In our own time – I remember as a kid in the 80s, which gives you an idea of how old I was – growing up in the 80s … I remember how homosexuals were looked down upon, and the names that were give to these people, and how disgusted the average masses were with that segment of society.
Now look! Now look at how we have regressed – not progressed. Where it is impossible, forget a Muslim, even a Christian or a Jew, can not stand up in public in front of a non-Muslim audience, and speak against homosexuality. He is a homophobe! He is an evil person! How dare he preaches hatred against this group of people!
A group of people who were punished, by the way, the likes of which no other nation has been punished! From the time of Adam to the Day of Judgement, no community, no group of people had been punished like the People of Lut had been punished. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala [May he be glorified and exalted] picked up their city. He picked it up by the angel Jibreel alaihis salaam [On him be peace]. And he let it sworn [sic] up into the air and he turned it upside down and he smashed it on itself.
And to this day, to this day, the most uninhabitable place and the most evil water on the face of the earth is the Dead Sea. Which is the place of Sodom and Gomorrah. To this day! Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala did not punish any nation like He punished them.
What are we going to do when we’re facing a nation which keeps on changing its values? One day something is good – tomorrow it’s not good. How are you going to defend – how are you going to say hijab is good or bad when they themselves don’t have a steady command of what is good and bad, when good and evil evolves within society and culture?
You can’t. You simply cannot play the rule according to their games [sic]. You cannot do it.”
Owen Jones should pull out of this conference, and explain why he will not appear at an event that showcases bigots and hatemongers.
UPDATE
Owen Jones says (in the comments):
“Blimey, it’s like wading through sick in the comments box, isn’t it?
The obsession with character assassination and motive-questioning is quite something. Some of your computers must be covered in spittle / bile.I was asked to speak at conference organised by MEND – an organisation which has worked with MPs across the political spectrum. I speak at hundreds of events every year, not because I’m a “poseur”, or self-aggrandising, or desperate for a profile, or money (at free events?!), or anything else. I’m a socialist trying to reach as many people as possible and to avoid the usual left trap of only talking to a bubble of people who already agree. That’s why I speak at everything from Paloma Faith gigs to inner-city sixth-forms. And that really is it.
I had no idea who else had been invited to a conference. I drown in admin as it is and can’t really go round demanding the names of every single person invited to conferences and then spend an afternoon researching the back history of each and every one. I haven’t been invited to share a platform with anyone – I was invited to deliver a speech by myself. My sole motive was to try and engage with Muslims voters before one of the most important elections in a generation. Now
I’ve found out about this individual, I’ve been in touch with the organisers.Now I know many of you will fall back on bile, ad hominem, motive questioning, and generally being unpleasant about a secular gay socialist who you’re trying to portray as a stooge of homophobic fundamentalists. That’s your call. But I just thought I’d post the truth, whether you like it or not.”
Yeah. I hate the comments too. But Owen Jones must be used to this from the comments to literally every single piece he has ever written on Comment is Free.
But one point:
I had no idea who else had been invited to a conference. I drown in
admin as it is and can’t really go round demanding the names of every
single person invited to conferences and then spend an afternoon
researching the back history of each and every one.
There are only three people taking part in the conference. All he really had to do was to put their names into a search engine. That is a sensible thing to do, when you’re invited to speak by an organisation which is, let’s face it, Islamist.
Islamist hate Gays. Really, Owen, they do. They think that they’re on a Mission from God to establish God’s rule on Earth. They think that God’s rule means “implementing the Sharia”. That’s why they call themselves “Islamists”.
According to Islamists, the Sharia requires that Owen Jones should be thrown off the top of a tall building. Because they believe this, and because they’re not generally liars, Islamists tend to say that this is what should happen.
So, next time, use a search engine.
Let’s see what the organisers tell Owen, and whether he’ll be easily persuaded that Qadhi is a good chap and his speech ought to go ahead.
What do you reckon he’ll decide to do.
