Skip to content
On this page

Controversial Questions to Prof.Jonathan Brown and Dr. Shadee ElMasri (MH Podcast #6) (2020-07-06)

Description

Here Prof.Jonathan Brown, Dr. Shadee Masri and I discuss certain issues that people may have against what they may have written/said. They clarify and give context to their views. Issues range from LGBTQ, Yaqeen institute, statements regarding the Prophet (s.a.w) etc.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mohammed_hijab?s=20 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mohammedhijabofficial/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brothermohammedhijab/ Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mohammed-hijab-465985305

0:00 Introductions 2:00 LGBT Topic Introduction 4:15 LGBT Discussion at AMJA in 2015 11:00 Explanation of his “RACCIO Framework” 21:00 We shouldn’t support others just because they can help Muslims (no quid pro quo) 26:00 Discussion on applicability of “maslaha” on this topic 32:00 Prophetic model is neither a right model or a left model 41:00 Soft-Liberalism/(Ottoman) Millet system thought experiment 1:01:10 Advice on dealing with toxic social media environment 1:07:20 About Dr. Brown’s Salvation Article 1:12:20 Regarding attitude towards those who insult the Prophet (s) 1:19:50 MH suggestions to JB to avoid shubha 1:28:40 Regarding Single Toilets debate 1:37:00 Advice to fight doubts

Summary of Controversial Questions to Prof.Jonathan Brown and Dr. Shadee ElMasri (MH Podcast #6)

*This summary is AI generated - there may be inaccuracies.

00:00:00 - 01:00:00

Professor Jonathan Brown and Dr. Shadee ElMasri discuss the challenges that the Muslim community will face in trying to navigate the complicated terrain of LGBTQ rights and religious freedom in the United States. Brown argues that the Muslim community should affirm LGBTQ rights, while ElMasri argues that the Muslim community should focus more on protecting religious rights.

00:00:00 features two guests, Dr. Sherry and Mosley, discussing controversial issues in the Muslim community, such as the LGBTQ rights movement and the legality of gay marriage. Jack outlines his position on the ratio idea, which he says he got from a discussion at a Muslim jurists association in 2016.

  • 00:05:00 Jonathan Brown and Shadee ElMasri discuss Islamic views on homosexuality and the idea of engagement with society. Brown argues that the two spheres are mutually exclusive, while ElMasri says that pluralism is the key to success.
  • 00:10:00 Professor Jonathan Brown and Dr. Shadee ElMasri discuss the challenges that the Muslim community will face in trying to navigate the complicated terrain of LGBTQ rights and religious freedom in the United States. Brown argues that the Muslim community should affirm LGBTQ rights, while ElMasri argues that the Muslim community should focus more on protecting religious rights.
  • *00:15:00 Discusses a controversy around an essay written by Jonathan Brown and Shadee ElMasri, in which the authors argue that the United States should go in a more morally pluralistic direction. Some Muslims argue that this would go against Islamic teachings, while others argue that it is the law of the land and should be supported.
  • 00:20:00 Jonathan Brown and Shadee ElMasri discuss the Islamic view of marriage and whether or not the US government should recognize it as only between a man and woman. Brown argues that because of the benefits Muslims receive from upholding contracts, they are obligated to do so. ElMasri counters that protecting covenants does not mean Muslims must support laws that are against Islamic values.
  • *00:25:00 Discusses the idea of supporting the rights of LGBT, and Prof. Jonathan Brown and Dr. Shadee ElMasri debate whether or not this can be done without compromising one's Muslim beliefs. Brown argues that if a law or contract is agreed to by both parties, and it is in accordance with the Sharia, then it should be supported. ElMasri disagrees, saying that if an issue is unrelated to Sharia, then it should not be supported.
  • *00:30:00 Discusses controversial questions to Professor Jonathan Brown and Dr. Shadee ElMasri, including whether the US government should determine moral matters and which side of the Obergefell case Brown would come down on. Brown says that he agrees with ElMasri that the US government should not determine certain moral matters, but argues that taking the "gay marriage" side in the Obergefell decision would necessitate supporting secondary consequences such as "certain things that are hot" and "crazy". He also says that since the beginning of the Trump presidency, he has become closer to Shadee ElMasri's position on the issue.
  • 00:35:00 The two speakers discuss how Muslims in the left-wing social justice alliance are compromising their positions as Muslims, making it difficult for them to advocate for the rokyo position.
  • *00:40:00 Discusses the recent controversy surrounding Islam and two academics who have been invited to speak at a local university. believes that the academics are engaging in a soft liberal war game instead of taking a more realistic approach to understanding the situation. He points out that if the St. James school case goes against the academics' predictions, it will be a disaster for Muslims in the United States.
  • 00:45:00 argues that Muslims should not support LGBT rights movements, as doing so would be too revealing of their beliefs.
  • 00:50:00 Jonathan Brown and Shadee ElMasri discuss whether Muslims should participate in rallies or events that may be against their religious beliefs. Brown says that Muslims can commit to going to rallies, but they should not do things that are against their religious beliefs, such as dancing or participating in political speeches.
  • 00:55:00 Jonathan Brown and Shadee ElMasri discuss the modern state and its role in society. Brown argues that the government should not get involved in people's moral lives, while ElMasri argues that the government should provide law and order and protect society from invaders. They discuss the difference between supporting gay marriage and believing in a law that defines marriage as something in which gay people have a right to marry.

01:00:00 - 01:45:00

Jonathan Brown and Shadee ElMasri discuss controversial topics and offer advice for Muslims living in a modern world. Brown emphasizes the importance of humility and recognizing that others may have different views than one's own. ElMasri emphasizes the need to have a wide understanding of Islam and to be aware of the history of the religion.

*01:00:00 Discusses some controversies around Jonathan Brown and Shadee ElMasri, including Brown's article "The Reality of the Walker Case" and ElMasri's response, "A Response to Radical Jack." Brown and ElMasri discuss how their work should be read, with Brown stressing that having a be honest approach is important. ElMasri argues that the controversies around Brown and his work constitute a "weak link" in his portfolio, and that he would like to see a follow-up article addressing the issues.

  • 01:05:00 Professor Jonathan Brown and Dr. Shadee ElMasri discuss controversial questions, with Brown noting that he removed a sentence from an article that discusses the possibility that God could forgive the sin of shook for a reason other than repentance. Moby disagrees with Brown's view, and argues that the article should have been clarified to make it clear that the sentence had been removed.
  • 01:10:00 Professor Jonathan Brown and Dr. Shadee ElMasri discuss controversial topics, including whether insulting the Prophet Muhammad should be illegal in Muslim countries. Brown regrets the way he phrased his comments, and ElMasri agrees that such a law should be enforced in all countries, not just the West.
  • 01:15:00 Professor Jonathan Brown and Dr. Shadee ElMasri discuss the issue of free speech and how it can be used to restrict speech that insults religious figures. Brown argues that this type of restriction is only justified when it is done to protect vulnerable minorities, such as Muslims. ElMasri counters that the same restrictions could be applied to any group of people, and that liberals should take a softer approach to free speech in order to protect everyone's rights.
  • *01:20:00 Discusses controversial questions to Prof.Jonathan Brown and Dr. Shadee ElMasri, including whether Muslims should follow Western laws or Sharia, whether it is better to have laws that Muslims can follow or not infringe on their rights, and whether it is better to have a divided Muslim community.
  • *01:25:00 Discusses some of the feedback that he has received from people about a recent video that he uploaded discussing the controversial topic of insulting the Prophet Muhammad. He notes that while he believes that Muslims should be respectful of the Prophet, they should also be open to discussing these topics openly and honestly. He argues that because the issues around religious freedom and sexuality have changed so much over the past few years, it is important for Muslims to revisit these discussions and write about them in a clear and accessible way.
  • 01:30:00 , Jonathan Brown and Shadee ElMasri discuss what they see as problems with the current state of bathroom policies across the United States. Brown specifically points out that he wants toilets that are "just like gender-neutral single-use single stall," and ElMasri agrees that this is a reasonable request. However, ElMasri argues that this is something that should be implemented in a way that is specific to each person's gender identity, rather than being gender-neutral. ElMasri also discusses the increased cultural fascism that he sees happening in South Africa, and how it is hardening Muslims and making them uncomfortable. Brown responds by noting that everyone benefits from open discussion, even those who may have expressed unfavorable opinions about certain topics.
  • *01:35:00 Discusses the controversies surrounding Prof. Jonathan Brown and Dr. Shadee ElMasri, and provides advice for Muslims who are struggling with doubts. Brown and ElMasri recommend reading and listening to reliable sources, and accusing oneself if one does not understand the matter at hand.
  • *01:40:00 Discusses two pieces of advice that Jonathan Brown, a professor of Islamic Studies and Shadee ElMasri, an expert on Islam and terrorism, offer for Muslims living in a modern world. Brown emphasizes the importance of humility and recognizing that others may have different views than one's own. ElMasri emphasizes the need to have a wide understanding of Islam and to be aware of the history of the religion. Both experts offer helpful advice for Muslims living in a modern world.
  • 01:45:00 Jonathan Brown and Shadee ElMasri discuss controversial topics. Brown challenges ElMasri's views on Islam, and ElMasri challenges Brown's views on Christianity.

Full transcript with timestamps: CLICK TO EXPAND

0:00:00 [Music]
0:00:04 sorry come welcome to liable care - and
0:00:07 welcome to the sixth episode of the mah
0:00:09 podcast the [ __ ] podcast I'm here
0:00:11 with special guests
0:00:13 two very notable individuals that are
0:00:15 contributing contributing to the
0:00:16 academic kind of work and knowledge
0:00:19 production in the Muslim world we have
0:00:21 dr. sherry and Mosley who is a teacher
0:00:23 in the staff in Institute's that
0:00:25 corrects a few nights yes you Venus
0:00:27 society yep Venus Society apologies for
0:00:30 that and we have of course top Professor
0:00:33 Jonathan Brown who well-known and also a
0:00:37 professor in them was named the
0:00:39 University against it
0:00:40 Chicago Georgetown the Georgetown that's
0:00:45 Sean University not be mistaken with
0:00:50 George Washington University because you
0:00:55 went to George Washington minute
0:00:56 universe he didn't you did you your
0:00:58 muscle yeah I went to GW yep yeah and
0:01:01 used on your PhD in our University I was
0:01:07 gonna bag on George Washington I don't
0:01:12 want to be I don't want to be rude well
0:01:14 with the consortium I was able to take
0:01:16 one-third of all my classes at
0:01:18 Georgetown so I did enjoy that nice
0:01:19 musty library downstairs and I spent
0:01:22 hours there I took classes with Scott
0:01:25 Redford almost all my god that's really
0:01:28 interesting
0:01:31 Scott Redford his dad was like some
0:01:35 politician who ended up being ambassador
0:01:37 in Lebanon and he fell in love with the
0:01:40 Middle East he went to Harvard he became
0:01:43 an Islamic Arts an architecture you know
0:01:45 guy and ends up being teaching at
0:01:47 Georgetown so his classes were really
0:01:50 good yeah okay let's get started what
0:01:53 wouldn't talk to you guys about today
0:01:54 was some of the controversial things
0:01:57 that have been in the air in terms of
0:01:58 our approaches as Muslims as the Muslim
0:02:01 community to the LGBT rights movement
0:02:04 and I think we're all on the same page
0:02:06 from my reading of your works in terms
0:02:10 of how we view a man having
0:02:13 was another man for example the act
0:02:15 itself and the miscibility of the act as
0:02:18 per the Islamic edicts and
0:02:20 understandings the question really isn't
0:02:23 about this the question is about how do
0:02:26 we engage as the Muslim community with
0:02:29 LGBT groups now what I wanted to do is
0:02:34 because obviously on the obtain website
0:02:36 we have you've dr. Jonathan Brown is in
0:02:40 an article which dr. Shetty must be then
0:02:42 responds to is kind of like a refutation
0:02:44 of that of the article so what I wanted
0:02:48 and dr. Jonathan Brown just I think
0:02:54 maybe we can just go with I'm Jack
0:02:56 that's a D I think shoddy are you okay
0:03:00 with that
0:03:00 works for me yeah otherwise we're gonna
0:03:03 spend half the half the podcast is gonna
0:03:05 be saying our names yeah that's right
0:03:08 okay so Jack can you outline your
0:03:12 position in terms of what is this ratio
0:03:14 idea that you've had did you get this
0:03:17 idea from how did you come to this
0:03:19 conclusion and then we'll get ready to
0:03:25 okay I mean Rahim first of all thanks a
0:03:31 lot for having us on it's always really
0:03:33 pleasure to talk to people in the UK or
0:03:35 whoever is watching this in the universe
0:03:37 right I think I first of all I think you
0:03:40 actually introduced the issue really
0:03:43 well which is you know when we when we a
0:03:49 fiend so me and Omar sorry
0:03:51 Sheikh Omar right when me and chick Omar
0:03:54 we're talking about doing this right to
0:03:57 his back you go back to kind of 2015
0:03:59 there's the Oberkfell Supreme Court
0:04:01 ruling United States which basically
0:04:03 makes gay legal gay marriage illegal in
0:04:04 the United States everywhere and 2016
0:04:08 there was a discussion at am Jay the
0:04:11 American Muslim jurists Association I
0:04:13 think it was in Texas a camera we're in
0:04:15 Texas it was that year so when an Joe
0:04:17 there's like a whole discussion about
0:04:19 this issue about the gay marriage ruling
0:04:20 and how Muslims should like Fikri
0:04:24 position themselves and I socially
0:04:25 position himself
0:04:26 sir and like exactly the same issue they
0:04:30 found exactly the same things that shadi
0:04:32 and I were discussing in that count
0:04:33 foreigner point/counterpoint came up in
0:04:36 that discussion so our aim with that
0:04:39 point counterpoint was you're clean was
0:04:41 basically say okay let's let's show very
0:04:46 clearly what's agreed upon right so the
0:04:48 religious issue we want to show there's
0:04:50 no disagreement on this so there's no
0:04:52 disagreement about Lilith is Haram in
0:04:54 Islam we have a certain understanding of
0:04:56 sex and gender let's just put let's put
0:04:58 that aside so that that's not gonna get
0:05:00 questioned because otherwise we're gonna
0:05:02 go down the path of Muslims questioning
0:05:05 things that are my lumina Dean but you
0:05:07 know before we continue with the words
0:05:10 now but could you translate them okay so
0:05:12 things that are known as scent you know
0:05:14 axiomatically as part of the faith or
0:05:15 the prohibition on on homosexual acts in
0:05:19 Islam is is cut right it's it's
0:05:21 absolutely certain it's known from the
0:05:23 Koran from the Sunnah from fik from
0:05:25 Ajmer right cetera et cetera yeah um so
0:05:29 that's the idea was let's put this
0:05:31 religious like Dini issue aside and then
0:05:34 we'll be we're gonna talk about the
0:05:36 political question so what now that
0:05:38 Muslims you know we can very clearly
0:05:39 articulate what our religious views are
0:05:41 how do we deal socially and politically
0:05:44 with the challenges in our society so
0:05:46 that was the idea was like me and shadi
0:05:47 are gonna kind of core shadi was you
0:05:50 know he wasn't part of the discussion
0:05:51 yet right but it was the ideas a we're
0:05:53 gonna set kind of show the religious
0:05:56 parameters very clearly and then within
0:05:57 the we're gonna get into the political
0:05:59 discussion and there we're gonna show
0:06:01 what the different perspectives are so I
0:06:02 was going to come out with this idea of
0:06:05 kind of engagement and notion of kind of
0:06:07 pluralism and create you know promoting
0:06:11 a sort of soft liberal pluralistic
0:06:13 society in which different groups can
0:06:15 kind of pursue their own moral religious
0:06:17 visions or lifestyles under a shared
0:06:20 protection of Rights and shadi was you
0:06:22 know obviously gonna take the position
0:06:24 he took so that was it was really about
0:06:26 having like a political discussion about
0:06:28 how the American Muslim community was
0:06:29 going to position itself socially
0:06:31 politically on this important issue
0:06:33 unquestioned just before we continue
0:06:34 yeah I'm not sure if everyone would
0:06:38 agree
0:06:39 that the two spheres are mutually
0:06:43 exclusive so in the sense that you know
0:06:45 we can have a discussion about the
0:06:47 wealth and so on and that is strictly
0:06:50 political discussion with no kind of
0:06:53 religious ramifications what do you
0:06:54 think shyly quickly before we continue
0:06:56 with this because there seems to be an
0:06:58 assumption here that where we have I
0:06:59 would I would say I actually completely
0:07:01 agree with you that's that that's
0:07:04 exactly the kind of ground we wanted to
0:07:06 feel out in this discussion yeah yeah
0:07:10 it's a very important point yeah you
0:07:13 know the that Jonathan making in and
0:07:15 what is not to what is not it's not
0:07:18 separating between religion and politics
0:07:20 but it's really separating between
0:07:21 what's my lumina deem but their aura and
0:07:24 what is up for what son as allah a new
0:07:28 matter that requires maybe some yes
0:07:32 translation as allah is a new matter
0:07:35 that we are facing right now yes
0:07:37 requires in HD ed we're not talking
0:07:40 about it you had like the four methods
0:07:41 level HT had but we are forced to make a
0:07:43 PS based upon and works forced to make a
0:07:47 decision so what is that what that does
0:07:50 is it removes this the the difference of
0:07:52 opinion from one of which would render a
0:07:56 person like a cafeteria that which is
0:07:58 known in religion as india so it removes
0:08:01 it from that and brings it into the
0:08:02 sphere of a difference of opinion i
0:08:04 might feel that you're you're holding
0:08:07 something that's simple by said it is
0:08:09 one thing I would want to just kind of
0:08:11 probe you on here with this you I agree
0:08:14 with the fact that no one's trying to
0:08:16 classify anyone thank you know this is
0:08:17 not definitely not all trying to do we
0:08:19 respect everything everyone respects one
0:08:21 another here we don't yeah a few bar
0:08:23 this dichotomy if either at being
0:08:26 something which is within the religious
0:08:28 scope that is difference of opinion or
0:08:32 something which render someone a kafir
0:08:35 is something which someone might object
0:08:37 to someone could say there's a third
0:08:39 option a third option is that what
0:08:41 you're saying is Barton it was outside
0:08:43 of the religious parameters and and it
0:08:46 doesn't render you are careful or move
0:08:48 toward our or fascicle whatever that is
0:08:50 there as well like in the religious
0:08:51 literature
0:08:52 many things about the meaningful
0:08:54 outright false so from a religious
0:08:57 perspective the works women has them all
0:08:59 the world so many of the scholars they
0:09:01 will be things in them which we could
0:09:05 consider as well as incorrect is exactly
0:09:08 that's exactly it's not it's not gonna
0:09:10 we're not gonna now you know use this to
0:09:12 try and classify that individualist XYZ
0:09:16 that's a careful okay yeah or even let's
0:09:18 say we don't classify him but the view
0:09:20 itself
0:09:20 we-we've exit kufur and a bit and heresy
0:09:25 beta from we've exited that realm to a
0:09:28 view that can be either Boston or so on
0:09:31 or you know yeah correct
0:09:33 well if I once again I don't think
0:09:35 there's a problem with if someone says
0:09:37 the view is bida
0:09:38 it's different from saying that someone
0:09:40 and once again this is I'm sure everyone
0:09:43 here knows it but for the for the kind
0:09:46 of average viewer he's watching this if
0:09:48 someone says this view that for example
0:09:51 dr. Brown has his bid ah is this thing
0:09:55 which is newly invented into the
0:09:56 religion for the sake of argument
0:09:57 it doesn't mean now that he is the to
0:10:01 that right
0:10:01 Oh innovator so yeah which is like of
0:10:05 course yeah of course this is big like
0:10:08 that's the point of an as Allah right
0:10:09 the idea of a NASA this is we have
0:10:13 Muslims have not been in a position that
0:10:15 we know of in history in fact as far as
0:10:19 I know no society has been in a position
0:10:22 that we are in now regarding how modern
0:10:25 Western societies view sexuality and
0:10:29 gender like this it's a it's a novel so
0:10:33 any you know whatever our discussion and
0:10:36 our potential solutions are almost
0:10:39 certainly going to be unprecedented in
0:10:41 our tradition so I think that like using
0:10:46 words like I mean I'm not I know you're
0:10:47 not trying to attack me or something but
0:10:49 I think when we start talking words like
0:10:50 video it's like yeah like obviously
0:10:52 there's whirring we're in unprecedented
0:10:55 situation we're just trying to figure
0:10:57 out what is the way that we as Muslims I
0:11:02 think III Shadia you can disagree with
0:11:05 me if you if you do
0:11:06 I mean I think our both of our
0:11:08 objectives are how do we as Muslims
0:11:10 preserve our faith in our community how
0:11:12 do we do I'm gonna motto for net
0:11:14 hannahmont guard in the best way in our
0:11:15 society how do we preserve our religion
0:11:18 and spread it right because this is
0:11:20 wisdom and Angela that we believe
0:11:22 benefits people dunya laughter right so
0:11:24 how do we do that best yes that's the
0:11:27 discussion yeah so what is your position
0:11:30 how would you outline it in a nutshell
0:11:31 like I've read obviously your article
0:11:33 and you kind of categorized or classify
0:11:37 different views the rejectionist view
0:11:38 the neutralist view and then you had
0:11:41 your own Russell view how would you now
0:11:43 in terms of tryna abbreviate it as at
0:11:47 least wise as possible what is your view
0:11:49 in terms of how we do the LGBT movement
0:11:53 you know first of all by the way Shai do
0:11:56 you like if I if I'm talking too much
0:11:57 just you know go like this and be like a
0:12:00 man you've been talking too much no prop
0:12:01 up my hands I don't I don't want to I
0:12:03 don't distract from your your chance
0:12:05 right
0:12:05 aye aye aye this is gonna really annoy
0:12:09 you Muhammad but I actually don't think
0:12:11 you can talk about it succinctly why
0:12:15 because the situation has changed so
0:12:18 much since that all article was written
0:12:20 right so thousand they say that article
0:12:22 yeah we were that article I equals 2017
0:12:25 I can't run it was but like that's it
0:12:27 was a very beginning of Trump you're I
0:12:29 think right so things have changed so
0:12:31 much like that article in some ways is
0:12:33 like it's obsolete not because because
0:12:38 the discussion around the LGBT LGBT
0:12:40 discussion has moved so far so things
0:12:43 like gay marriage are not even an issue
0:12:45 anymore
0:12:46 now it's issues of like gender or how we
0:12:49 understand gender in schools how we talk
0:12:51 about discrimination and things like
0:12:53 that what our kids are gonna be taught
0:12:55 in school in public schools so that's I
0:12:57 think the bigger issue and so but I'd
0:12:59 say like you could look at it as an as a
0:13:01 developing discussion and so in that
0:13:05 sense what I would say is the the
0:13:08 question I was trying to or the point I
0:13:11 was trying to make in the ratio which I
0:13:12 think means rights affirmation common
0:13:15 cause Islamic were that oxy or something
0:13:16 like that I just made it up when I was
0:13:17 writing the article um yeah
0:13:20 is kind of what is the vision we have
0:13:23 for the United States as a country right
0:13:25 so one vision would be this kind of one
0:13:29 could call kind of Abrahamic tent vision
0:13:31 right so which is that the United States
0:13:34 a sort of this judeo-christian muslim
0:13:36 theistic nation honors God even though
0:13:39 it it grants religious liberty sort of
0:13:42 the the substrate of the country is one
0:13:44 that respects revelation that kind of
0:13:48 has a respect natural law respects like
0:13:51 human human beings linked to his own or
0:13:55 her own nature right and that nature
0:13:57 means something that it has some degree
0:13:59 of claim or control over us that our own
0:14:01 subjective identity doesn't determine
0:14:04 our nature um and it so that that would
0:14:06 be one vision right and they serve
0:14:09 muslims would be allowed to function and
0:14:11 flourish in that society the criticism
0:14:15 of that would be that the christian
0:14:18 right in this country is simply to
0:14:21 Islamophobic and too hostile to muslims
0:14:24 historically and in the present to
0:14:26 really allow muslims to exist in this
0:14:30 country
0:14:30 and this evidence for this would be
0:14:32 things like the fact that in 43 states
0:14:35 now there have either been passed or
0:14:37 proposed anti sharia bills that make it
0:14:40 illegal to follow Sharia in those states
0:14:42 and you can imagine by the way what that
0:14:44 means it potentially about things like
0:14:46 marriage like dr. Shah Dee's marriage or
0:14:48 my marriage right I have a Sharia
0:14:50 marriage which I have a little
0:14:51 certificate from the mosque so I'm going
0:14:53 to come and say you've broken the law by
0:14:55 having this marriage I hadn't happened
0:14:56 yet but that's just potentially what
0:14:59 might happen right um and the other
0:15:01 vision is that the kind of ratio vision
0:15:04 was that this country would be much more
0:15:08 like pluralistic diverse demographically
0:15:12 pluralistic morally even legally right
0:15:15 and that you can imagine almost like a
0:15:17 millet system in the Islamic tradition
0:15:19 where you have basically little
0:15:20 communities so there's Amish people here
0:15:22 there's Christian people here there's
0:15:23 Muslim people there the Muslims have
0:15:25 their own schools they have their own
0:15:26 social associations right and that the
0:15:28 the law is the actual law of the land is
0:15:32 very minimal in the waiting
0:15:34 poses moral or cultural views on these
0:15:38 different communities so that's much
0:15:40 more we cope we talk in political
0:15:41 sciences like kind of a soft liberalism
0:15:43 so if you're familiar with South Africa
0:15:45 much more like South Africa where you
0:15:48 know polygamy is legal all sorts of
0:15:50 different animal sacrifice is legal
0:15:52 because you have such a culturally
0:15:54 diverse country where as opposed to what
0:15:57 the United States is now and Britain is
0:16:00 now which is much more of a hard liberal
0:16:02 state where yeah there's freedom of
0:16:03 religion and the others freedom of you
0:16:05 know moral beliefs but really like
0:16:07 there's X but you know you
0:16:08 polygamy is allowed certain beliefs are
0:16:11 considered intolerant certain beliefs
0:16:13 speech is considered hate speech right
0:16:15 so I was really arguing that the US
0:16:18 should go and to have a more morally
0:16:20 pluralistic diverse direction but I
0:16:23 think the problem is and this will be
0:16:25 the last thing I say we're talking for a
0:16:27 long time which is if you look at the
0:16:29 development of American law since that
0:16:32 article was written 2017 it's we've gone
0:16:35 further down the knot we've we haven't
0:16:37 gone down the path towards something
0:16:40 that would make the ratio view possible
0:16:44 we've gone the other way right which we
0:16:46 actually become more hegemonic there's
0:16:49 like more of a hegemonic progressivism
0:16:52 and liberalism in our society and
0:16:55 actually right now literally right now
0:16:57 in the next few months we're gonna see
0:16:58 with the Supreme Court decision on
0:17:00 what's called st. James school we're
0:17:02 gonna see I think whether there's going
0:17:03 to be the final nail in the possibility
0:17:06 for really morally and religiously
0:17:07 plural country or if or if that's gonna
0:17:11 be allowed I don't know one question
0:17:14 before I get chatty on if that's all
0:17:16 right because then I think there's still
0:17:18 something to be said about the main
0:17:19 controversy about this particular essay
0:17:22 so let me read something that you've
0:17:24 written you said according to the Russia
0:17:25 opposition American Muslims should
0:17:28 support the right of gay marriage under
0:17:31 US law this is really the crux of the
0:17:34 problem here in terms of controversy
0:17:37 because people are saying on what
0:17:39 grounds on what Islamic grounds and when
0:17:43 you say the word should here is this
0:17:45 what MOBA is it
0:17:46 it's Berbers
0:17:48 is it doop is obligatory is it
0:17:50 recommended whoa what is the
0:17:52 classification that you're making it I
0:17:54 mean when you're saying we should in
0:17:57 fact engage in so much as we could
0:18:00 support the right of gay marriage
0:18:03 doesn't this seem very contrary to the
0:18:08 Dower of loot alehissalaam for example
0:18:10 who very much was opposed to these kind
0:18:13 of practices let alone facilitated it on
0:18:15 what islamic I don't think loot I don't
0:18:17 think Luther Latham talked about gay
0:18:19 marriage well he talked about sex
0:18:22 between men and men okay I mean look if
0:18:24 we want to talk about sex between men
0:18:26 and sexy and women
0:18:27 that's Haram like if someone comes to
0:18:29 ask me you know what should Muslims say
0:18:31 about me Watts they should say this is
0:18:33 Haram and they should do I'm gonna be
0:18:36 model for non-han and one car on that
0:18:38 they should say this is this is
0:18:39 considered sinful in my religion and I
0:18:42 don't believe it's pleasing to God why
0:18:45 doesn't the five common sense that if
0:18:47 the thing is Haram
0:18:49 then in which leads to it and
0:18:50 facilitates it no because you because
0:18:53 you're not I mean you don't I don't know
0:18:56 you know not to get too graphic but you
0:18:58 don't need to be married to do this
0:18:59 stuff right so like it's legal like this
0:19:02 the walk is legal in the United States
0:19:04 that's I mean why is Muslims do you need
0:19:10 to support gay marriage if it's like why
0:19:13 have you two recommended this with I
0:19:15 don't I don't I don't support gay
0:19:16 marriage I support the right to marriage
0:19:19 for gay people why is that because
0:19:22 because I I want the same what is look
0:19:26 at what what is that what was the gay
0:19:27 marriage case about he didn't say it
0:19:30 wasn't you know Ken gays get married it
0:19:32 was is does the government have a right
0:19:36 to say that marriage is only between a
0:19:38 man and a woman that's the that's the
0:19:41 debate right now my marriage and my
0:19:46 marriage is a Muslim is nothing to do
0:19:48 with the US government my marriage is
0:19:49 between is a contract between me and my
0:19:51 wife my wife's family in the eyes of all
0:19:54 loves my Allah
0:19:55 that's it like it doesn't matter if the
0:19:57 US government acknowledges that or not
0:19:59 okay so this is the Muslim marriage
0:20:02 and and what is pleasing to God is one
0:20:04 thing right now we have to look at the
0:20:05 issue what what is the I have a question
0:20:08 do you want the US government to say
0:20:11 that marriage the only marriage is going
0:20:13 to be legally recognized it's between a
0:20:16 man and a woman I'm more politically
0:20:19 active in that sense I don't I'm not
0:20:22 trying to persuade the US government to
0:20:24 do anything okay so I when I want my
0:20:28 position on personal position on the
0:20:30 matter is that for me the kind of defies
0:20:33 common sense especially if you're trying
0:20:36 to use muscle aha type arguments like at
0:20:39 one point seemed like you were trying to
0:20:41 insinuate that because it's kind of
0:20:43 dirty is kind of necessity now but we
0:20:45 need these people to help us in order to
0:20:48 they're the only one one of the only
0:20:50 groups out of us which is questionable
0:20:52 actually that the gay air rights groups
0:20:54 there so that we should help them in in
0:20:56 kind so I'm not I know I don't I don't
0:21:00 think that I say very akashi I say very
0:21:03 explicitly in the article this is not a
0:21:05 quid pro quo this is not a quid pro quo
0:21:09 because it would be we are not allowed
0:21:11 to advocate for something that's Haram
0:21:13 because somebody is something nice for
0:21:15 us so it's gay marshmallow then of
0:21:18 course not what do you what what you I'm
0:21:20 sorry to get upset like what universe
0:21:22 are people in that they think it's hello
0:21:24 like not only is it not hello but I've
0:21:27 written the most extensive article
0:21:30 rebutting any arguments that it is halal
0:21:32 and Islam okay you say okay you know
0:21:41 then but you said the word holla halal
0:21:43 means hello in Islam okay I want to say
0:21:47 you want to say legal or not legal
0:21:50 yeah that's not that's not even it is
0:21:52 legal that was our and that decision was
0:21:54 made before this article was written
0:21:56 right it's illegal and it's it is legal
0:21:58 in the United States right like that is
0:22:01 formed so is are you are you arguing on
0:22:03 muscle hydrant so let me let me make me
0:22:06 an meat repackage sorry so sorry go
0:22:10 ahead because you wrote a refutation
0:22:11 what what is your what I think Jack was
0:22:13 just saying right now is that he's
0:22:15 arguing that he does not want the
0:22:17 government involved in making moral
0:22:20 claims and decide Aryan view okay would
0:22:27 you see as you've written a response so
0:22:29 okay so one of my things is when I read
0:22:32 this about this interaction between the
0:22:35 Muslims and the law etc one of the
0:22:37 articles that you could read that also
0:22:38 summarizes something I don't know if
0:22:40 it's exactly
0:22:41 Jonathan's opinion but at the end
0:22:42 professor Fazal Mohamed falls off from
0:22:45 Toronto and he writes in his article
0:22:48 basically summarizes his position is
0:22:50 that if you allow discrimination against
0:22:55 gays in the workplace you open the door
0:22:58 for Muslims to be discriminated against
0:23:00 in the workplace that's his argument
0:23:01 right now he has to come upon the issue
0:23:04 is okay well are we therefore are we
0:23:08 supporting something that Allah
0:23:10 prohibited by doing this by backing that
0:23:12 group are we there for backing something
0:23:14 that Allah prohibited he says and this
0:23:17 is where I'm gonna no no my disagreement
0:23:19 and note where you know the seeds of
0:23:21 secularism are really in his article he
0:23:23 notes that we are obligated as Muslims
0:23:26 to uphold the contracts that we are upon
0:23:29 and we're upon this you know
0:23:32 Constitution and these leaves of the US
0:23:35 and therefore by advocating and
0:23:38 supporting and fulfilling those laws
0:23:40 we're doing our job because the prophets
0:23:42 I said and said and what we knew and I
0:23:43 in the shuttle to him believers have to
0:23:45 observe their contracts now my response
0:23:48 to him is that protecting covenants and
0:23:52 contracts that's that part is correct
0:23:55 but there's a condition that the
0:23:58 contract is valid and not what we said
0:24:01 also about it right so Mike my response
0:24:04 to him is that we're only supposed to
0:24:07 observe contracts that are in line with
0:24:11 the Sharia
0:24:11 now let's say well all of us our
0:24:14 citizenship were bound by laws of
0:24:18 Nations that you know we would never
0:24:20 author right and aren't even valid for
0:24:22 us okay
0:24:23 however they became binding upon us by
0:24:27 virtue of our birth it
0:24:29 doesn't necessarily mean we support them
0:24:31 right so there's a big there's a this is
0:24:34 tough seal really constantly separating
0:24:36 between matters just because something
0:24:38 is bounds upon me doesn't necessarily
0:24:40 mean I support it all right
0:24:42 I'm stuck with it what can I do okay but
0:24:44 I'm not forced to support it just
0:24:46 because I benefit from something and
0:24:48 that's what Johnny Jack was saying just
0:24:51 because they're benefits um does not
0:24:52 necessarily mean I gotta go and support
0:24:54 it right so that's those were my couple
0:24:57 our other points on the issue of this
0:25:01 idea of supporting the rights of LGBT
0:25:04 just because the Muslims will also
0:25:07 benefit from that I would say okay yes I
0:25:09 may benefit but I will sit back and
0:25:11 watch right I'm not going to actively
0:25:14 support I may benefit I may not right so
0:25:17 those were my points and my main issues
0:25:20 were the separation of a political
0:25:23 judgment from a 50 judgement okay from
0:25:26 her from a moral judgment but as a
0:25:29 method that's a problem and as a and as
0:25:33 a concept of covenants we can't forget
0:25:37 the condition for which we're to support
0:25:40 a contract or covenant or a law or
0:25:42 whatever is that it's valid in the
0:25:45 Sharia by the view of the Sharia all
0:25:47 right so let's know what a shudder yeah
0:25:49 yeah so for me what I was thinking
0:25:51 immediately is that and LeBron I think
0:25:54 we're gonna run out five minutes we're
0:25:55 gonna have to resolve this session if it
0:25:57 does can we just again yeah the session
0:26:00 so I was thinking in my mind about okay
0:26:04 so if we're arguing from muscle huh
0:26:06 which it seems like effectively this is
0:26:08 what this is an argument from God or a
0:26:10 Muslim then Muslim I can be you know
0:26:13 Muslim Allah and my Muslim Aloha it can
0:26:15 be Muslim osela but in this situation it
0:26:18 seems that it's very clear Muslim all of
0:26:21 our meaning something which is as you've
0:26:22 mentioned to share something which is in
0:26:24 opposition to the Sharia argument here
0:26:27 is that if it's something which you can
0:26:28 if it's morsella if it's something which
0:26:30 is MOBA and specially hasn't spoken
0:26:32 about it all this mullah I'm obviously
0:26:34 the Sharia allows itself mentions in its
0:26:36 text then it's different but the issue
0:26:38 here is that you have this issue if we
0:26:40 take for example the view that
0:26:43 a marriage outside of Islamic laws I
0:26:45 think the argument that I make is in
0:26:47 fact Muslim osela and it's not muha then
0:26:50 you have a third you have a secondary
0:26:51 problem which is what Ezeli mentioned is
0:26:54 Mustafa the idea that for most lucky to
0:26:56 be Marta bara it has to be a cotton
0:26:59 [ __ ] and has to be doubling now it
0:27:02 doesn't seem to me you can make the
0:27:03 argument that school eat dice it's for
0:27:05 the collective interest Wow it's very
0:27:07 difficult to make the argument that this
0:27:09 is cotton but in other words if we don't
0:27:11 support the gay rights movement on
0:27:13 homosexual marriage that we will be in
0:27:16 danger of for example death or one of
0:27:18 the rotten humps that there's gonna be
0:27:20 an impending genocide that will take
0:27:21 place this is what I think the whole
0:27:23 thing if we want to make him a Sunni
0:27:25 argument will literally flat fall flat
0:27:27 on his face and I find it difficult to
0:27:30 make an argument after that because my
0:27:32 question then would be if you can't
0:27:36 prove it okay that there's an imminent
0:27:37 threat to one of their for example the
0:27:39 rattle comes one of the five essential
0:27:41 things that we should react him to
0:27:43 protect
0:27:43 then on what grow slowly grounds um is
0:27:47 this argument being made so I want I
0:27:51 wanna be very very clear like I don't
0:27:53 even consider this to be uh is not a
0:27:56 silly argument okay this is not a fixie
0:27:59 this is not a fixie argument there's a
0:28:03 political argument I mean so I agree by
0:28:05 the way I think shaadi makes a really
0:28:07 good point which is that it and you've
0:28:10 also said this right which is that you
0:28:12 can't really separate politics and
0:28:15 morality right I completely agree and
0:28:17 and this is I mean the irony about this
0:28:19 is like I of all the positions I've
0:28:21 taken in my life this is the position to
0:28:24 which I'm least attached right I mean I
0:28:26 have zero Hashem in public I know you
0:28:29 have the Yama so when I came in like
0:28:41 playing some stereo as if you have
0:28:44 Hashem Basava and our kabbala here's a
0:28:47 bad night the day - this is like I don't
0:28:52 have a
0:28:55 some strong attachment to this position
0:28:58 I could well be wrong right this is
0:29:00 about what is like the what does the
0:29:02 decision is best going to promote
0:29:04 Muslims and our ability to be Muslim in
0:29:07 the society that's what I'm concerned
0:29:10 here's this here's here's here's the
0:29:12 issue right um I don't
0:29:16 I've never advocated for gay marriage
0:29:20 right I've advocated for the change of
0:29:25 law that says that I've advocated that
0:29:29 it is not right that the US government
0:29:32 says that marriage can only be between a
0:29:33 man and a woman that's the only thing
0:29:35 right so I that's what I want that's
0:29:38 what I thought Muslims should support
0:29:39 Muslims should support the minimal
0:29:43 restrictions of what marriage means in
0:29:45 our country even though according to our
0:29:47 government you know what your your
0:29:49 maneuver would have been better if you
0:29:52 had not given a specific and went back
0:29:55 it's Jack yeah yeah it would if you had
0:29:59 not entered into a specific and just
0:30:01 backtracked and said I believe that the
0:30:04 US government should not determine
0:30:06 certain moral moral should not enter and
0:30:09 define certain moral matters okay yeah I
0:30:12 agree with you fine that's a good point
0:30:13 yeah but then I have a question okay so
0:30:15 let's say that's what you let's say
0:30:16 that's what we decided we're gonna try
0:30:18 and push for it
0:30:19 and now somebody comes and says okay do
0:30:22 you support this which side of the
0:30:24 obergefell case you're gonna come down
0:30:25 on the one that says merit asks me
0:30:27 between men only you to man and woman or
0:30:29 the one that says that marriage doesn't
0:30:31 necessarily have to be between a man
0:30:32 woman if that's our objective as we've
0:30:35 as you've suggested I'm not saying
0:30:37 that's your opinion but your your
0:30:38 strategy that you're proposing for me
0:30:39 right um that would necessitate us
0:30:42 taking the quote-unquote gay marriage
0:30:45 side in the obergefell decision right so
0:30:48 that was actually precisely what I was
0:30:50 taking
0:30:51 um because I mean that may that might be
0:30:57 a good position right but I think that's
0:31:00 that doesn't really reflect the reality
0:31:02 the social reality in our country and
0:31:05 probably in Britain too which is that
0:31:06 people want to know what your opinion is
0:31:09 like you can't tell Muslim kids in high
0:31:15 school we're getting asked this question
0:31:17 by their friends you know that you got
0:31:19 to give them an answer you have to give
0:31:21 them it's equipped them to answer these
0:31:22 questions that's really what I was
0:31:24 trying to do is to help you how do you
0:31:26 equip young Muslims with a way to think
0:31:29 about this issue publicly but you know
0:31:31 that sometimes arriving at silence on a
0:31:34 matter is a thought-out process and
0:31:37 that's the result is that I literally
0:31:40 cannot choose one or the other like you
0:31:43 cannot choose either one for example the
0:31:45 left and the right okay in America and
0:31:48 probably England the same thing
0:31:49 worldwide right not the the nativists
0:31:51 cultures in Europe versus the the
0:31:54 leftists the I think the most accurate
0:31:57 position is that you cannot take a
0:31:59 position that's a judgment that I've
0:32:01 went through it and you cannot choose a
0:32:03 side because both sides have something
0:32:05 that we would stand for and both sides
0:32:08 have mutual have non-starters that we
0:32:11 cannot ever side with right so it is a
0:32:14 sort of results it results in we have to
0:32:18 form our own platform of things right on
0:32:20 things so our platform is going to be
0:32:22 very unique
0:32:22 we're dead against racism on one side
0:32:25 right we're very much for racial racial
0:32:29 diversity equal distribution of wealth
0:32:31 sounds like all these like left swing
0:32:34 things right but at the same time we're
0:32:37 we're dots we don't support taxes
0:32:40 taxation without you know do cause
0:32:42 cousin Sharia that's an issue we don't
0:32:45 support homosexuality so it's not only
0:32:48 we don't support it we're against it
0:32:49 right so our platform is gonna become a
0:32:53 merger that nobody recognizes right and
0:32:56 that's why that's really the best thing
0:32:58 to teach our youth is that we have a
0:33:00 platform that's neither left nor right
0:33:02 and you can never be do I agree with you
0:33:05 hundred percent yeah and I've actually
0:33:07 not to promote my own work but like you
0:33:09 know I've written about this on you
0:33:10 clean on issues of toxic masculinity and
0:33:13 things like that so I agree like the
0:33:15 prophetic model is not a right model or
0:33:18 a left model right it's a prophetic
0:33:19 model and we should you know considering
0:33:21 the dead
0:33:23 and the state of non functionality that
0:33:27 American politics society is in right
0:33:29 now and probably British too right
0:33:31 like people need answers and we should
0:33:33 provide answer which is this prophetic
0:33:35 model and just because you support the
0:33:37 idea that the government should not
0:33:39 define certain things does not
0:33:41 necessarily mean that you have supported
0:33:44 all the secondary consequences to that
0:33:45 right so it may you may argue the wisdom
0:33:48 but if I say listen government Uncle Sam
0:33:51 I don't want you telling us you know
0:33:54 what marriages well that's true he is he
0:33:57 can't I'm basically saying Uncle Sam
0:33:59 don't make tisha dia so that's actually
0:34:01 a valid position right
0:34:03 the secondary consequences of that may
0:34:05 be you know certain things that are hot
0:34:07 certain things that are crazy right
0:34:08 Haram but I haven't necessarily I'm not
0:34:12 guilty of supporting those Haram things
0:34:15 right so the question may be is it wise
0:34:17 or is it not is the current status
0:34:19 closer to the Sharia or is are those
0:34:21 secondary consequences positive and
0:34:23 negative closer to the city I so then
0:34:26 you do Muslim off so that kind of
0:34:27 analysis well actually let me only
0:34:30 honestly some migas
0:34:31 you know to be honest like sitting in
0:34:33 the year since that article was written
0:34:36 the way things have changed have
0:34:39 developed honestly I become much closer
0:34:42 to sha Dee's position and I'll tell you
0:34:45 why right it's not actually it's because
0:34:47 of how okay let me start again right so
0:34:51 since let's say the beginning of the
0:34:54 Trump presidency right there were two
0:34:57 there were two options right so there
0:34:59 was this the kind of democratic party
0:35:01 that laughed so to speak right
0:35:03 especially the progressive left left
0:35:04 embraced Muslim so there were two
0:35:07 possibilities right one is that and this
0:35:10 was always the danger that nobody agreed
0:35:12 with right or that I know all right
0:35:13 which was that Muslims would by the
0:35:18 progressive argument hook line and
0:35:20 sinker drink the whole bottle of
0:35:22 kool-aid right that was what we were
0:35:26 always afraid of right that Islam would
0:35:27 just become an identity you know you
0:35:29 have the the like the the Latino person
0:35:33 the LGBT person and the Muslim person
0:35:35 these are just all these different
0:35:36 equivalent
0:35:37 you know minority groups who all agree
0:35:41 with all the same same moral vision this
0:35:44 was the danger right so then you'd have
0:35:46 Muslims celebrating things they can't
0:35:49 celebrate in their religion right doing
0:35:52 things like dancing and gay pride
0:35:53 parades Muslims shouldn't dance and gay
0:35:55 pride parades you can't celebrate these
0:35:58 kind of actions you can if you want you
0:36:01 can say I support certain rights
0:36:02 I want sort of the law to be a certain
0:36:04 way right to protect your rights but I'm
0:36:06 not gonna actually support a certain
0:36:08 lifestyle that I don't agree with the
0:36:09 problem is that all the the most
0:36:11 prominent Muslims involved in the kind
0:36:14 of left-wing social justice alliance
0:36:17 have completely gone junk in the
0:36:20 kool-aid completely they've they've
0:36:22 engaged in expressions that are really
0:36:26 compromised their positions as Muslims
0:36:28 and make it impossible for me as a
0:36:32 Muslim to come out and support what
0:36:34 they've done now I will not I'm not
0:36:36 gonna gang up on those people right you
0:36:38 know if I see these someone like you
0:36:40 know al Han Omar Kong Hong Kong's woman
0:36:42 no more this woman gets so many death
0:36:44 threats from right wing lunatics she has
0:36:47 her own security detail provided her by
0:36:49 Congress okay so this this of this
0:36:52 Isabel oh my Muslim sister I will not I
0:36:56 will not gang up on her and engage in
0:36:59 some kind of public trashing of this
0:37:01 person to increase the burden on her
0:37:02 shoulders but I do not agree with some
0:37:04 of the things she said and done and the
0:37:06 doing those things and in advocating
0:37:09 those things she's made it effectively
0:37:10 impossible for me as a Muslim I think to
0:37:13 support her program it's a very
0:37:15 difficult position it makes me very sad
0:37:17 that this is the course that's happened
0:37:18 over the last two to three years I
0:37:20 didn't I hoped it wouldn't happen but I
0:37:22 unfortunately I think that's the path
0:37:24 we've been going down which as I said
0:37:25 before is a path that is making the
0:37:27 rokkyo position almost impossible to
0:37:30 advocate for as it's just it's not a
0:37:32 realistic possibility right now sorry
0:37:36 just them fortunately getting wolf I
0:37:38 just wanted to kind of summarize what
0:37:39 I've understood from both of you
0:37:42 obviously I think that about two years
0:37:44 ago when this article was was first
0:37:47 published until now you're saying that
0:37:49 there's been changes
0:37:51 which have made it kind of them
0:37:52 impossible very impractical based to
0:37:55 advocate such a position in that from
0:37:58 the slam expect the masala
0:37:59 wouldn't be as maybe you calculate him
0:38:02 to be at that time it also admitted
0:38:05 really that this is not an Islamic
0:38:06 argument you weren't using the language
0:38:08 of us all and and all of these things it
0:38:11 was more political argument so you could
0:38:13 put in other ways at this this ratio
0:38:16 approach has got nothing to do with this
0:38:17 slap in a sense and if I actually I
0:38:20 actually I mean I yeah in effect yeah I
0:38:23 would I mean I don't I don't I mean I
0:38:25 don't sees nothing to do with Islam
0:38:27 because I'm Muslim and I wouldn't be
0:38:28 thinking about the stuff it's not I'm
0:38:31 not making some like kousouli argument
0:38:33 definitely not yes offense well
0:38:35 something like this or is she had I mean
0:38:39 I'm sorry like what are Muslims like
0:38:41 smoking some kind of weird drug or
0:38:43 something like when did this say as like
0:38:45 this is a fatwa I mean this is a this is
0:38:47 our Muslim so immensely unsophisticated
0:38:50 that they can't actually talk about
0:38:52 political issues you know the issue is I
0:38:59 can apologize even right so obviously if
0:39:02 it's gone apologetic remap people are
0:39:04 thinking that what you're gonna be
0:39:06 talking about or writing about is in
0:39:08 line or at least through the prism of
0:39:11 the religious it's worse so I see what
0:39:14 you're saying I you know it's not
0:39:16 something which is Islamic it's
0:39:17 something which you didn't intend them
0:39:19 to be like a French for sense and it's
0:39:22 got nothing to do with Islam well then
0:39:23 one could question in fact that why is
0:39:25 it on your clean them because your pain
0:39:26 is more an apologetic remiss it's more
0:39:29 of no no no that's I mean look I I
0:39:32 understand that you know that's your
0:39:35 view and tell me what my view that but
0:39:37 that's actually not one of the things we
0:39:39 were trying to do with this point
0:39:42 counterpoint with you dr. shadi and I
0:39:43 was actually just trying to provide some
0:39:45 guidance and structuring the discussion
0:39:48 around this issue so not in an
0:39:51 apologetic sense like I mean let me let
0:39:54 me mean III again I'm not criticizing
0:39:57 what you said but like if we're trying
0:39:58 to promote some like wishy-washy liberal
0:40:01 brand of Islam why would we invite dr.
0:40:03 shadi to give the cup
0:40:05 point they would just have my article
0:40:06 and then be like dr. Shelley's an idiot
0:40:08 II can't write sup here no so you don't
0:40:10 your invite someone who gives an
0:40:12 argument that you know is a really good
0:40:14 argument book shop dr. sadi argument is
0:40:16 an excellent argument it's an excellent
0:40:19 argument I said to this ok someone could
0:40:25 come back and say is that look well
0:40:26 actually was what's going on is that
0:40:28 you're making it seem as if there's a
0:40:29 religious debate or where there's no
0:40:31 religious dip according to your own
0:40:32 admission well what what right it's not
0:40:34 a religious debate it's a political what
0:40:37 what it was is an academics do this and
0:40:40 maybe some people aren't really aware
0:40:42 but academics conduct war games right
0:40:45 like what if we said this right then
0:40:48 what would the response I viewed it as a
0:40:50 type of that like it that that your
0:40:53 position was sort of what if what if we
0:40:56 did this what if that were the case sort
0:40:59 of exploring an option right and then my
0:41:03 job was to come in and and be you know
0:41:05 like they when they hire a retired
0:41:07 general come and you're the opponent
0:41:09 right and let's just see if this
0:41:11 strategy is gonna work in a war yeah
0:41:13 right and so that that was my job to
0:41:15 poke all the holes in it so what that's
0:41:19 how I felt that it was it's rather than
0:41:21 you know a hard-and-fast program that
0:41:24 he's gonna be doing speaking tours on it
0:41:25 so that's how I buta was just like I'm
0:41:28 really interested in the the soft
0:41:30 liberal type of war game where we say
0:41:33 what if it was promoted in a society
0:41:36 that every grouping and I actually
0:41:39 believe this is you know probably better
0:41:41 for us you forget citizenship of where
0:41:44 you're born it's what is your law
0:41:46 alright what is your law that's a more
0:41:50 accurate way to categorize people than
0:41:52 what land you were born it and then
0:41:53 based upon what your law is that's how
0:41:56 you'll be judged and interacts right hmm
0:41:59 okay
0:42:00 and so I I could say I'm Muslim someone
0:42:02 else could say I'm a progressive liberal
0:42:03 someone is someone and then when I when
0:42:06 I go to court with a Muslim I'm gonna go
0:42:07 to court right in that court and then
0:42:10 but we'd have to extrapolate that
0:42:12 because it's gonna lead to a whole bunch
0:42:13 of different classes but that's what
0:42:15 there's a guy in England and LSC what
0:42:17 was his name John
0:42:18 Jack what was his name that guy he put
0:42:21 forth this idea that it's it's this is
0:42:23 the super soft liberalism yeah I know
0:42:27 you might buy their law he is he has
0:42:29 like a really he's like your Eastern
0:42:32 Europe name his name is impossible yeah
0:42:34 you're talking about
0:42:35 he's an Eastern you now the US has gone
0:42:37 the exact were like fascist liberals
0:42:39 right now so it's it's I think this is I
0:42:42 and this is the point I was trying to
0:42:43 make which was that see if you go back
0:42:45 to like 2016 until and I I want to
0:42:48 stress this we are going to see within
0:42:50 the next few months we're gonna see a
0:42:52 shoe drop and it's either gonna be in
0:42:55 this place or it's gonna be in that
0:42:56 place it's the st. James school case
0:42:57 that has to do with the excope of the
0:42:59 ministerial exemption which I sent you
0:43:01 guys readings on right and if that scope
0:43:03 is narrow if it takes if it takes
0:43:05 edition of the 9th Circuit Court the
0:43:08 ability of Muslims on other religious
0:43:10 communities to have their own bubbles of
0:43:12 existence is going to be extremely
0:43:14 limited if that case comes down with an
0:43:18 expansive wide understanding of what the
0:43:20 ministerial exemption is then it's gonna
0:43:22 make it a lot more possible nothing
0:43:25 close to what dr. shadi suggested but a
0:43:27 lot closer to what he's suggesting than
0:43:28 otherwise so that's what I was hoping is
0:43:32 we would go down a path more towards a
0:43:34 soft liberal morally pluralistic even
0:43:37 legally polish society and not one in
0:43:40 which a either a kind of progressive
0:43:42 hegemony or judeo-christian Western
0:43:45 European hegemony was going to be
0:43:47 enforced and everybody in the country in
0:43:49 fact what we have right now is a battle
0:43:51 between these two things neither of
0:43:53 which are very welcoming to Muslims yeah
0:43:55 and we should hope that gore suits maybe
0:43:58 it feels a little bit guilty and owes
0:43:59 one to the right right that's that's
0:44:02 what I was thinking like when that when
0:44:04 the boast boasts a County Court decision
0:44:07 came down I was like this is only gonna
0:44:09 work if the st. James school comes with
0:44:12 a really expansive understanding
0:44:15 administrable exemption so you say no
0:44:17 worse no no discrimination based on
0:44:20 gender and sexuality etcetera etc but
0:44:22 the area in which you can have
0:44:25 discrimination because of religious leaf
0:44:26 is gonna be big yeah but if they make
0:44:28 that area small it's gonna be a disaster
0:44:31 it's gonna be disastrous and but this
0:44:33 also goes to show them that there are
0:44:36 some method methodologies that can last
0:44:38 longer than others so a methodology
0:44:41 where it says listen I'm just gonna go
0:44:42 by you know the letter of the law I'm
0:44:44 not gonna you know engage in some kind
0:44:50 of a you know political operation
0:44:53 because the game the game's changing
0:44:55 constantly right everything's constantly
0:44:58 changing and who you have to be with now
0:45:00 is you maybe you know it harms you later
0:45:03 so that's where the idea of where when I
0:45:06 make the conclusion that I'm actually
0:45:07 stepping back okay may actually end up
0:45:10 having you know a long term stability to
0:45:14 that view because the game keeps
0:45:15 changing you know and who knows that how
0:45:18 Muslims in the future will not be viewed
0:45:20 as you know these people of color that
0:45:22 can be banded into you know the minority
0:45:25 groups we might actually be viewed as
0:45:27 eventually be viewed in with the
0:45:29 opposites outside or in our own yeah my
0:45:32 biggest my biggest in this whole
0:45:33 situation
0:45:34 and I'll be honest with you is playing
0:45:35 especially go to North America and
0:45:37 interact with young people my biggest
0:45:40 fear is that when I actually have
0:45:41 conversations with them what it seems to
0:45:45 because you've got me like in Hamamatsu
0:45:46 and others like her who go to the grave
0:45:50 the gay pride parade and the dancing
0:45:53 around with them is it seems to me a lot
0:45:56 of these young people have this
0:45:59 assumption or belief that people like
0:46:01 ill hanim are and others like them are
0:46:03 getting the backing they got you know
0:46:07 people like Jonathan Brown because of
0:46:09 articles like the ones Israel which if
0:46:11 you think about what he said today
0:46:12 obviously what you've just said today in
0:46:14 wait hang hang on only say I wrote in
0:46:17 that article against why Muslims should
0:46:21 not go in gay pride parades I wrote in
0:46:23 that article a year before she danced in
0:46:25 the grave on gay pride parade why are
0:46:30 you saying was that best you get exactly
0:46:32 what you said you can you can quote
0:46:34 exactly what I say because I gave
0:46:36 precisely why Muslims should not I don't
0:46:41 think you said don't go to the gay pride
0:46:43 parade but you said I did I
0:46:45 percent said it Goyo don't don't look at
0:46:48 a piece of paper man go push the website
0:46:50 read the article I've written it
0:46:52 word-for-word believe me believe me III
0:46:54 was looking very closely at what you
0:46:56 said and because what you said about it
0:46:58 is that in basically something to do
0:47:00 with they should Muslims shouldn't do
0:47:03 something to affect us Muslims should do
0:47:05 something they're not comfortable with
0:47:06 but you didn't make it categorically
0:47:07 clear that Muslims should not go to gay
0:47:10 pride parades he said you nestled in
0:47:12 couch do no no I'm very clear I said
0:47:16 Muslims should not participate in gay
0:47:17 Paree
0:47:18 go go go I mean let me say something I'm
0:47:23 gonna defend myself I'm gonna find a
0:47:25 website okay doing that let me make a
0:47:28 comment while Jack is finding it that a
0:47:31 lot of people on the Internet
0:47:33 people actually need to learn a soul of
0:47:36 how to make a conclusion on the internet
0:47:38 because a single quote let's say he did
0:47:40 say that right well we have in the Quran
0:47:44 yeah you have multiple masseuse right
0:47:46 and you have to bring all the suits
0:47:48 before you make a conclusion 45 minute
0:47:52 essay it's not like 77 thousand words of
0:47:54 the Quran this is much more easy to make
0:47:56 oh no but a person should individual an
0:48:02 individual makes multiple statements
0:48:03 let's say right yeah in the course of a
0:48:05 year two three four years on an issue
0:48:07 makes multiple statements right so you
0:48:10 have to couch one statement that may be
0:48:13 ambiguous you have to also put it in in
0:48:15 line with all the other statements right
0:48:17 and see okay daddy's position is correct
0:48:26 and one of the things I think we should
0:48:28 be doing by the way I mean I'm not you
0:48:30 know people like you Muhammad a job
0:48:33 people like shadi who really like you
0:48:36 guys need to raise the bar you guys need
0:48:37 to pull Muslims up none of this like
0:48:40 nonsense I heard this somebody told me
0:48:42 that
0:48:43 did you really say this I didn't write
0:48:49 like a 500 page book this is like you
0:48:51 know what nice by the way for those
0:48:54 viewers are watching you've written a
0:48:56 very good I don't hurry
0:48:58 was about slavery which I recently
0:49:00 bought it was a very good book it's a
0:49:02 doorstop yeah mashallah
0:49:04 okay yeah I'm nervous I'm everyday I am
0:49:07 frequently asked by Muslim student
0:49:09 groups about how they should respond
0:49:11 imitations to participate in Gay Pride
0:49:13 rage which can be let's just say a
0:49:15 little bit too edgy from Muslim sense of
0:49:17 public propriety and modesty my response
0:49:20 don't lapse into thinking that
0:49:22 supporting someone's right is an
0:49:25 all-or-nothing relationship let's
0:49:27 imagine a comical Muslim rights parade
0:49:29 for Muslims parade with burkas and long
0:49:31 beards angrily chanting and condemning
0:49:34 physical contact between sexes outside
0:49:36 of marriage frying pork and alcohol
0:49:37 would we expect our allies from the LGBT
0:49:41 community and other groups to march with
0:49:43 us of course not they'd the understand
0:49:45 of the on control with some of these
0:49:46 expressions of Muslim this quote-unquote
0:49:48 similarly Muslims can affirm their
0:49:51 support for some eligible I brought here
0:49:52 for LGBT rights but I would say some
0:49:54 LGBT rights right commitments right no
0:49:58 no I wrote I wrote I wrote LGBT rights
0:50:00 but I made very clear in the article
0:50:02 that I don't support all of them right
0:50:03 commit themselves to being present other
0:50:06 rallies and in efforts to lobby
0:50:08 lawmakers without participating in
0:50:10 events that might be outside Muslim
0:50:12 country but you said they can commit
0:50:13 themselves to go through rallies that's
0:50:16 what you said no go go to a rally about
0:50:17 discrimination like if there's if
0:50:19 there's a rally right where someone says
0:50:21 you know we're being beaten up or we're
0:50:25 being abused by police or being called
0:50:27 names and publicly and I'd be like no
0:50:31 one should be caught treated like this
0:50:32 for sure
0:50:33 Bojack right you just said here very you
0:50:36 said that you say you read it yourself
0:50:37 right you said that you can't go to the
0:50:40 rally but just don't do things which are
0:50:42 X Y is it right no no no there's Gay
0:50:44 Pride Parade is not a rally okay Gay
0:50:48 Pride Parade is a Gay Pride Parade a
0:50:50 rally is a political rally but you can
0:50:53 have a political rally that's premise on
0:50:55 on Gabe LGBT rights now I have a there's
0:50:59 a problem that always comes up on this
0:51:00 and that problem is that there is a type
0:51:03 of link where oftentimes normal human
0:51:06 rights like don't not getting beat up
0:51:09 while walking in the street is
0:51:10 oftentimes
0:51:12 couched as in LGBT right and there's
0:51:14 that sometimes a confusion there right I
0:51:16 guess I'll be honest with you I'm an
0:51:18 outsider and I'm a fan of Jonathan Brown
0:51:20 I've got enough you know I love didn't
0:51:22 from Bravo 0 al I've read his stuff and
0:51:24 I share his stuff and I rep I'm actually
0:51:26 referenced you in one of my books as
0:51:27 well so thank you this is not this is
0:51:30 not from a person who's a hater or some
0:51:32 ways I'm just being honest T so it's
0:51:35 like the Muslims are all complementarily
0:51:37 trying to achieve the same objective
0:51:40 what I'm saying is this is that when you
0:51:42 when I read that myself my question is
0:51:45 my question to myself is he saying that
0:51:48 you can go to the rally but not do
0:51:50 certain acts in that rally for example
0:51:52 maybe dancing or something like that so
0:51:54 in other words it's not categorical
0:51:56 enough by way of prohibition like in
0:51:58 terms of if if your view is that they
0:52:00 should not be Muslims young Muslims go
0:52:04 into rallies which lgbt-related and you
0:52:06 don't want people to use your own
0:52:08 material as as a kind of backing for
0:52:12 that or a way to try and legitimize that
0:52:15 practice that I believe that the the
0:52:17 phraseology in that and in that
0:52:19 particular passage there was not
0:52:21 decisive I have to be honest ok that's
0:52:24 you know what I can I'm happy to go and
0:52:27 actually edit that and say and because I
0:52:30 didn't I didn't think that I didn't
0:52:32 think of rally and the Pride Parade is
0:52:34 the same thing at all right so I will I
0:52:36 will go and I will edit that and I will
0:52:39 make it clearer and in fact I'll even
0:52:41 put in some rights because I wrote that
0:52:43 very in other parts of the paper do you
0:52:45 think it makes sense because you just
0:52:47 said in this podcast that I mean you
0:52:50 were being introspective and you said
0:52:51 that you've kind of moved away from the
0:52:52 whole rational approach it's something
0:52:54 you don't really believe in anymore and
0:52:56 you move more towards opinion so just
0:52:58 take this whole thing down with you wait
0:52:59 wait hang on I believe in the ratio
0:53:01 approach I don't believe it's been me I
0:53:04 believe it has been foreclosed on by
0:53:06 developments in American politics
0:53:08 Society I I still believe in it so what
0:53:12 I don't believe it's I believe it is
0:53:14 much less possible now that what part of
0:53:17 it do you cuz we've already established
0:53:19 that you this is not really an Islamic
0:53:21 argument you've accepted that the
0:53:23 criticisms that okay that's a lot of
0:53:24 this stuff could be
0:53:25 used as a way of justifying people you
0:53:28 know literally supporting things which
0:53:31 might be prohibited in Islam don't you
0:53:33 think no I am enjoy I've been accepted
0:53:35 that because I don't think that's true I
0:53:36 think if somebody looks at this article
0:53:38 and thinks that somehow I'm trying to
0:53:39 say that we should support things are
0:53:42 Haram and our religion that that's just
0:53:45 not accurate III think that's not
0:53:46 accurate at all I don't think it was the
0:53:48 idea that you accepted also you've
0:53:51 accepted that something like this
0:53:53 article is not really meant it's not
0:53:55 trying to reason through the Islamic
0:53:57 paradigm it's not trying to reason to it
0:54:00 is actually a liberal ugh it's a secular
0:54:02 argument like oh like what I shared he
0:54:04 said in his article says yeah yeah I'd
0:54:07 say it's a true liberal argument so why
0:54:12 would you put that on its a try I'm
0:54:15 actually happy to own that like yes I'm
0:54:17 making a soft liberal argument for
0:54:20 minimal state invasion in telling people
0:54:23 how to live but that's not your that's
0:54:26 not that's not who you are Jennifer
0:54:28 Bryan you're a person who usually argues
0:54:29 through the Islamic paradigm you're not
0:54:32 progressive Muslim that's at least how I
0:54:34 interpret yeah okay but let's like I
0:54:37 mean I'm not I don't want to have a
0:54:40 tendency to get really angry so I'm just
0:54:41 not when I say that's a soft liberal
0:54:48 argument right what I mean is something
0:54:49 exact with dr. shadi was saying earlier
0:54:51 which is in the West and by the way this
0:54:55 is the state that the nature of the
0:54:57 pre-modern state in general is it did
0:54:59 not get involved in people's lives the
0:55:01 state basically provide law and order it
0:55:04 had an army to defend against invasions
0:55:06 and pretty much everything else was up
0:55:07 to the be just civil society right yeah
0:55:10 the modern state gets involved in
0:55:13 everything tells you what your kids are
0:55:15 gonna learn when their kindergarteners
0:55:16 tells you a color you can paint your
0:55:18 house if you can have chickens in your
0:55:20 backyard etc etc right so that's the
0:55:22 modern state it's it's omnipresent
0:55:24 invasive what I'm arguing for is a true
0:55:27 like original pure liberal idea of the
0:55:31 government not getting involved in
0:55:33 people's moral lives right the people
0:55:34 that a religious community has a right
0:55:36 to live its own life
0:55:39 interact with other communities in a
0:55:41 society that is minimally invasive well
0:55:43 if you said that and not specified gay
0:55:47 rights or gays or a gay marriage which
0:55:49 you explicitly specified Muslims should
0:55:52 support gay marriage on the US law I
0:55:54 said the right to gay marriage yeah okay
0:55:57 same a difference not the same thing
0:56:01 big difference okay I agree
0:56:06 do you support gay marriage no say no I
0:56:07 don't I don't believe this is pleasing
0:56:09 to God what do you believe in and do you
0:56:12 believe in a law that defines marriage
0:56:14 is something in which gay people have a
0:56:16 right to marry because we all we're not
0:56:18 going to define marriage obscene man and
0:56:19 woman I'd say yes of course I support so
0:56:22 you but you basically what you're saying
0:56:23 then is you're saying that you don't
0:56:26 believe that the government should
0:56:28 decide on the form of the merit or
0:56:30 should look like or how it should be the
0:56:31 fact ha yes exactly
0:56:34 okay see you see you see this yeah if
0:56:36 you said that there would be no
0:56:37 controversy
0:56:38 well III genuinely believe if you said
0:56:40 this if you said it the way you just
0:56:42 said it now which I'm very happy with
0:56:44 and I don't have any problem but if you
0:56:46 had that there would be no controversy
0:56:48 but unfortunately because of the the
0:56:51 possibility of misrepresentation here
0:56:53 and the fact that some people could be
0:56:57 using what you're saying to say well as
0:56:59 Muslims were allowed to support gay
0:57:02 marriage or get the right to gay
0:57:04 marriage which for vernacular is for
0:57:07 people under in the lay audiences
0:57:09 they're not going to really see the
0:57:10 difference isn't now it kind of rescues
0:57:13 the spiritual disaster that could be
0:57:16 right people thinking that people
0:57:19 actually not knowing the dividing line
0:57:20 between most Haledon haram that's the I
0:57:22 believe that's the biggest problem that
0:57:24 can come out of this like I said I'm
0:57:25 speaking to people in Norfolk North
0:57:27 America many young people were concerned
0:57:29 I have to say they were saying this is
0:57:30 what's happening in our mark this was
0:57:32 happening this Linda Sarsour
0:57:34 and the arcane is saying quiet not yes
0:57:36 sorry I can bother people I didn't Brown
0:57:38 yeah Jonathan I'm sorry Jack it's
0:57:41 staying quiet on the issue and in fact
0:57:43 it seems like he's giving them the
0:57:44 ammunition you see now obviously you'd
0:57:46 come back and say no it's not really as
0:57:48 you think it is and you didn't mean it
0:57:49 like this and we try and argue a case
0:57:52 if you if you have things like Muslims
0:57:55 should support the right for gay
0:57:58 marriage and your explicit very clear
0:58:01 then I think that they can be that just
0:58:04 wish that can be that confusion in that
0:58:07 in the minds young people yeah look I
0:58:09 mean sorry chef I know I want to give
0:58:11 shadi a chance to talk so I'm gonna say
0:58:13 this and I'll let schastye talk which is
0:58:17 you know I think it's a I've talked to
0:58:22 people like advisors of Ilhan Omar about
0:58:26 this issue about number of issues that
0:58:28 have come up and I've expressed my I've
0:58:30 explained my concerns in in the years
0:58:34 since this article was published right
0:58:35 but as I said before I don't think I'm
0:58:39 not gonna do this kind of public
0:58:41 lambaste thing of her other Muslim
0:58:45 sister right yeah yeah so and I have
0:58:50 actually I have written about this stuff
0:58:52 on my facebook I've said explicitly for
0:58:57 essentially these things for example
0:58:58 like on the the on the masterpiece gate
0:59:02 cake case or the Asscher wedding cake
0:59:04 case in the UK I said the UK Supreme
0:59:06 Court was completely correct it was it
0:59:08 is definitely the right of the Baker not
0:59:10 to be forced to make a cake that it
0:59:13 forces the Baker to engage in expression
0:59:15 doesn't do it so I totally side with the
0:59:17 Baker on this right
0:59:18 I've explicitly talked about issues of
0:59:21 things like trans education in fruit for
0:59:24 young children things like the
0:59:26 Birmingham school issue where I said
0:59:28 children should not be exposed to this
0:59:30 kind of issue at that young age um so
0:59:33 I've actually come out a lot and talked
0:59:35 about these issues I haven't written a
0:59:37 yeah you clean article about it um and
0:59:40 to be honest that that's really more of
0:59:43 like a personal choice of mine I don't
0:59:46 want to get into I don't want to feel
0:59:48 comfortable getting into the details of
0:59:50 why I haven't done that but I have done
0:59:54 my best on my social media to weigh in
0:59:58 on those things because I think they are
1:00:00 very very important in fact they are
1:00:03 much more important than the Oberg
1:00:05 called to say
1:00:06 I mean I think and this is some of the
1:00:08 stuff I was sending you material on
1:00:10 stuff about what kids are taught in
1:00:12 school what rights parents have to opt
1:00:15 out of certain classes this is really
1:00:18 really really a thousand times more
1:00:20 important because it get when you talked
1:00:22 about you can't separate politics and
1:00:24 morality the the collision of those two
1:00:27 is in education especially early
1:00:29 childhood education yeah - I understand
1:00:33 that Charlie what would you add to that
1:00:35 maybe that that the article that was
1:00:39 initially wrote written by Jack is and I
1:00:42 thought until the day I arrived with
1:00:44 radical you Jack it was potentially
1:00:47 something which can cause confusion and
1:00:49 would you be at least for maybe a
1:00:53 complete reality of that essay yeah I
1:00:57 mean I would I mean if they want to
1:01:03 re-edit it it's up to them what to do
1:01:05 what to write and what's up to date and
1:01:07 what's not up to date but the rebuttal
1:01:09 the fact that they put the rebuttal is
1:01:11 you know that's also you know something
1:01:13 to be considered and when people are
1:01:15 going off on the internet and youth and
1:01:18 people reading I just want to keep it
1:01:20 just give people one point is that when
1:01:23 you look at a statement from an author
1:01:25 the right way to make an analysis is to
1:01:28 look at all the state authors of that
1:01:31 statements of that author on a
1:01:33 particular point right whether it be
1:01:36 yeah Gemma a Dilla and sometimes what I
1:01:39 see is going on is a little bit of
1:01:41 unfairness not necessarily just to judge
1:01:44 on and brown but because obviously I
1:01:47 wrote the I wrote a rebuttal on it so
1:01:49 that's my perspective on that line or
1:01:50 that point but to a lot of people one
1:01:54 line is taken one image one picture and
1:01:57 we have a saying either would you done
1:02:00 HTML right but Alissa blood if there is
1:02:04 a possibility that that picture does not
1:02:07 represent 100% and it could be explained
1:02:09 away then I can't make a conclusion so
1:02:11 likewise I look at a lot of people who's
1:02:13 a quote was taken from here here here
1:02:15 here three or four but five and seven
1:02:18 and eight and nine
1:02:19 of the complete you know opposite
1:02:21 conclusion quotes we're not taking and
1:02:24 to me this is nothing less than slander
1:02:27 in a sense it's it's an intellectual
1:02:29 version of slander where I would just
1:02:31 take that quote and ignore that evidence
1:02:34 right we did that in fact we we laugh
1:02:37 right if someone eats and Ramadan and
1:02:38 says well Allah says kun hua shabu eat
1:02:40 and drink Allah said it right Allah said
1:02:43 it but hold on a second he also said I I
1:02:46 do it I do agree there has been there
1:02:49 has been some quote mining and all these
1:02:51 kind of things especially dr. Brennan
1:02:53 and and I want to stress the fact that I
1:02:55 believe having a be honest having read
1:02:57 too many of your books but I've actually
1:03:01 read a lot of the articles at the brown
1:03:03 some of the books and seen some of the
1:03:05 work that he's done I mean this is not
1:03:08 to take away from any work we're just
1:03:10 having a conversation here about some of
1:03:12 the controversies that potentially
1:03:14 constitute the weakest link of the
1:03:16 portfolio of work that needs to be
1:03:18 readjusted and it's not about you know
1:03:22 anything else we want to promote
1:03:24 goodness and we want to promote as we do
1:03:26 if I said before I've referenced and and
1:03:29 continuously actually led people to some
1:03:31 of your your work it's not it might
1:03:35 sound like it's a deep crisis it was
1:03:37 definitely not that and we're not coming
1:03:38 from a point of trying to label or
1:03:40 cancel or anything like that I mean I
1:03:43 would say I would say this I mean I
1:03:45 don't I think that article it makes
1:03:47 funny people are still talking about it
1:03:49 as I said before because I think it's so
1:03:51 out of date I mean it's not the
1:03:54 situation that the the the Walker the
1:03:57 reality has changed so much since that
1:04:00 article that it's sort of a pointless
1:04:01 article to read now so what I would say
1:04:05 without a doubt is and I've been arguing
1:04:07 you know we've been discussing this game
1:04:08 for a while is we need to write a kind
1:04:11 of part two about this issue now because
1:04:14 we in the Muslim community are in a very
1:04:15 different situation I think one of the
1:04:18 reasons we haven't done it is because
1:04:19 this say James School case is such a big
1:04:22 deal I think when that case comes down I
1:04:26 think at that point it's gonna be a
1:04:29 really time to if you're going to get
1:04:31 involved in the discussion
1:04:32 which we did right if you're gonna get
1:04:34 involved the discussion you got a
1:04:35 follow-up right I think at that point
1:04:37 we're gonna have to write something to
1:04:40 address a lot of these issues and also
1:04:42 yeah yeah and I'd like to make the point
1:04:44 that when we're in a Jamaa as we are as
1:04:47 colleagues people in dawa people who are
1:04:49 concerns about the matter
1:04:50 it's actually being in touch with the
1:04:52 Gemara yes and if it's like this it
1:04:55 allows maybe if I had a slip-up or I
1:04:58 said a word that didn't work out but
1:05:01 being in the Jumeirah and this happened
1:05:02 to me recently right like I made a
1:05:04 statement that wasn't a hundred accurate
1:05:06 you know in a month of definition but
1:05:09 had I cut myself off number one I
1:05:12 wouldn't have had the benefit of being
1:05:14 shown that there was an error likewise
1:05:17 if somebody had when attacked me so
1:05:20 viciously and emotionally I would myself
1:05:23 not want to engage with anyone so
1:05:26 therefore I'll never be corrected so
1:05:27 there's two opposites there's the one
1:05:29 person who is arrogant who doesn't want
1:05:31 to be part of the group then there's
1:05:32 like the rabid attacks on people rather
1:05:37 than having a discussion and and how do
1:05:39 we know the difference right
1:05:41 you know the difference by someone's
1:05:42 track record someone has a track record
1:05:44 that pretty much they want to be part of
1:05:46 an asana and they want to do the right
1:05:48 thing and they want to reach the right
1:05:49 conclusion that person would if they
1:05:51 make a statement that I totally disagree
1:05:53 with they deserve they've earned the
1:05:55 right of you know decent interaction
1:05:57 maybe can you explain can we discuss
1:05:59 this a little bit more very different
1:06:01 we're much different than someone with
1:06:03 an a complete completely insane view who
1:06:07 has a track record of other insane views
1:06:09 and that point then yeah you could bash
1:06:10 him all you want to trash him and ignore
1:06:12 him because that he's proven himself
1:06:14 that that's what he wants so there's in
1:06:16 in our dialogue I think these points are
1:06:19 important to realize that if you go on
1:06:21 that attack you actually disallow that
1:06:24 person from ever reviewing his work
1:06:27 right and getting to the goal that you
1:06:30 want which is for them to see your
1:06:32 perspective so it's all about these
1:06:34 manners of it's enough to actually
1:06:36 arrive us at the conclusion that we want
1:06:38 to I wanted to ask one more question
1:06:41 that was probably as controversial
1:06:45 probably a little bit less controversial
1:06:46 it was to do with an article written
1:06:50 about salvation for my Muslims now I'll
1:06:52 be honest I read the entire article and
1:06:54 I made sure to read it more than once as
1:06:57 well I didn't see anything in that
1:06:59 article that says that you have the P
1:07:01 really pretty brainless view or anything
1:07:04 like that in that kind of view or the
1:07:06 view that all possibly to the same truth
1:07:09 or anything like that but then when I
1:07:10 did a bit more digging I came across a
1:07:12 part of the essay which was removed and
1:07:17 this is what it says it says to be clear
1:07:19 what follows here is just my idea
1:07:23 it does also seems possible that God
1:07:26 could forgive the sin of shook for a
1:07:28 reason other than repentance perhaps as
1:07:30 an expression of his immeasurable
1:07:31 message and this was subsequently
1:07:35 removed from the article someone would
1:07:37 argue then why why didn't you clarify
1:07:39 that this was removed and you know in a
1:07:43 sense make the correction public well I
1:07:49 mean I actually can't remember what my
1:07:51 argument for I Kamber what argument I
1:07:54 had for what I said I can't I mean
1:07:56 that's not the question you asked but
1:07:58 I'm actually trying to remember like
1:07:59 what of evidence I add for that I can't
1:08:02 I honestly can't remember but I assume I
1:08:05 had some decent ID you know some reason
1:08:07 I chose well I'm actually so this is a
1:08:11 great example of exactly what shad he's
1:08:13 just talking about so I wrote that
1:08:14 article yes and Moby invade for whom I
1:08:19 have great respect wrote a public
1:08:22 critique very very forceful serious but
1:08:27 extremely polite and and respectful you
1:08:31 know it's something that you couldn't
1:08:33 you you couldn't hold it against him
1:08:35 right you had to look at what he was
1:08:36 saying you had to say shoddy also talked
1:08:38 to me and and I took I took that part
1:08:43 and there was another part I took out as
1:08:45 well very small thing um you know why
1:08:49 didn't I make it why didn't we make it
1:08:52 public I can't remember or honestly I
1:08:53 can't remember if we did make it public
1:08:56 why was it there in the first place
1:08:57 thing what did you intend by that
1:08:59 meaning
1:08:59 and you removed so I went back and I
1:09:01 looked at the article right now and it
1:09:04 doesn't mention that it was changed but
1:09:06 actually this is something we've
1:09:07 discussed we've actually agreed upon a
1:09:09 theme that we're gonna like when there's
1:09:12 a change made to an article you know a
1:09:14 significant change not like you know
1:09:15 somebody added something in a foot when
1:09:17 such a made the article that we're just
1:09:19 gonna say this article has been updated
1:09:21 but I mean I honestly a camber like what
1:09:26 we did or didn't do in terms of noting
1:09:28 any change to that article when it came
1:09:30 out but I mean I would just say right
1:09:33 now like what I mean you know we we took
1:09:37 those two sections out those two
1:09:39 sentences out and that was it I mean I'm
1:09:42 not sure what critics would prefer would
1:09:44 they prefer that we have something at
1:09:47 the bottom that says what I originally
1:09:49 said so that somebody can get misled by
1:09:52 them I mean the whole the whole idea is
1:09:54 that you remove these because they're
1:09:55 confusing to people so the idea that you
1:09:58 would sort of like remove them and then
1:09:59 include them in some credibility the
1:10:01 only issue would be that if someone I'd
1:10:03 wrote it before I'm not seeing the
1:10:04 correction that they can have the same
1:10:06 question that you know that they've
1:10:08 already seen that you know I mean but
1:10:11 then I mean that would mean it we'd have
1:10:12 to have some kind of method of alerting
1:10:14 anybody who had read the article with
1:10:16 some kind of like pig that a change had
1:10:19 been made not just you know I mean so I
1:10:25 to be honest I think look I'm gonna tell
1:10:29 you what I think really this is about
1:10:31 right this is about people want me to
1:10:33 engage in some kind of like self
1:10:35 flagellation they want to like put me on
1:10:38 a donkey and parade me around town you
1:10:40 know do that tissue you they want to
1:10:43 like touch the inner of me and like look
1:10:45 I'm sorry I'm not gonna you know look
1:10:47 III I a hundred percent accept criticism
1:10:50 I accept criticism when it's done with
1:10:53 incredible a job and propriety like
1:10:55 people like dr. shoddy I accept
1:10:57 criticism when it's done by complete
1:10:59 a-holes okay if though if someone's a
1:11:02 it's a like a jerk no I mean if
1:11:07 someone's like a slanderous bloated jerk
1:11:09 and then they write something you know
1:11:12 dr. Brown
1:11:13 spelled this word wrong that's a good
1:11:16 point you know my Canon McCool inferred
1:11:19 Burhan hoofy philosophy Lamanna
1:11:23 ill Anarkali right so you know if
1:11:24 someone makes a point and that you you
1:11:27 made a point two plus two is not five I
1:11:29 got to change that doesn't matter if the
1:11:30 guy's nice or not so I'm happy to take
1:11:33 criticism wheat you've seen are very
1:11:34 happy to take criticism very happy to
1:11:37 take like why why didn't you like come
1:11:43 out in draw attention to the mistakes
1:11:45 you made in the article because the
1:11:48 whole point is not to draw attention of
1:11:50 the mistakes because the mistakes are
1:11:51 misleading okay that's the the issue of
1:11:56 that article um and by the way those
1:11:59 criticisms were made I mean within I'm
1:12:01 just gonna say like within days of when
1:12:03 your article came out five I remember
1:12:05 correctly and so the other question you
1:12:10 asked me about was the issue of
1:12:12 insulting the Prophet lays awesome yeah
1:12:15 I wanted to ask you about that I wanted
1:12:16 to ask you I just
1:12:19 that's fresh in my mind because some
1:12:21 genius just like brought this up to me
1:12:24 yesterday like he's like the first
1:12:27 person who brought this criticism to my
1:12:28 attention I was like oh thanks a lot man
1:12:30 like I didn't where I was like he been
1:12:31 in a coma for three months or something
1:12:33 four months when did this take place
1:12:35 when did you make your comments alia was
1:12:38 the end of January I was in the UK I was
1:12:41 in High Wycombe yes yes so yeah I and I
1:12:48 wrote about this so much online I said I
1:12:51 I really regret my choice of words
1:12:54 why shouldn't I regret my choice of
1:12:57 words I regret I and I a to boloss panel
1:13:00 with Allah
1:13:01 I needed the character similar to a loss
1:13:03 of the large that I may be the snooping
1:13:07 lie lie lie lie and bitter lately man la
1:13:12 who hadn't Mohamed Mahmoud right so I
1:13:16 have no problem admitting my error right
1:13:21 in the way I was talk I would if I had
1:13:24 gone back I would
1:13:25 we've used very different words I do
1:13:28 still take the same position right so
1:13:32 let me just be care I'm gonna explain
1:13:38 right so I regret the way I phrased it
1:13:41 or a to bow a lot of cups right yeah - I
1:13:46 do not want anybody to himself the
1:13:48 Prophet they said Salaam yeah and in a
1:13:49 Muslim society or in a Muslim country I
1:13:52 actually think it should be illegal to
1:13:53 insult the Prophet okay and by the way
1:13:56 in societies where they already have
1:14:00 strict hate speech laws or
1:14:02 anti-defamation laws or laws about
1:14:05 public order and incitement against
1:14:08 strife places like Singapore even
1:14:10 someplace like France I think that those
1:14:12 laws should be enforced equally and that
1:14:15 people should not be allowed to and so
1:14:16 something like Charlie Hebdo should not
1:14:19 have been allowed to have those cartoons
1:14:21 because Charlie Hebdo is not allowed to
1:14:23 have cartoons that for example have
1:14:24 anti-semitic or anti-jewish sentiment in
1:14:29 them right so I I think if you're gonna
1:14:31 have a law that says you can't insult
1:14:33 you can't cause communal hatred you
1:14:35 can't insult religious figures that
1:14:37 should be applied across the board and
1:14:38 it should not be allowed to insult the
1:14:40 Prophet whether it's the West or not the
1:14:42 West right but in societies like the
1:14:46 United States where you don't have hate
1:14:49 speech laws so there are no laws of
1:14:51 there are no laws against hate speech in
1:14:53 the United States as far as I know it's
1:14:55 certainly not at the federal level right
1:14:56 I do not think that Muslims should
1:14:59 advocate laws that restrict speech
1:15:02 because it's considered hateful or
1:15:04 restrict speech because it insults
1:15:05 figures were venerated because the first
1:15:09 people who will be restricted in their
1:15:12 speech because of that will be Muslims
1:15:14 and and yeah i and you've seen we saw
1:15:18 this in the UK go back and look at the
1:15:20 all the articles about the Trojan horse
1:15:21 issue right look at the what the Ofsted
1:15:24 reporters said not in their written
1:15:25 report but in their oral meant the world
1:15:28 discussions they mentioned how they went
1:15:30 into the library of one of these schools
1:15:32 and it was quote-unquote filled with
1:15:33 hate speech with hate literature what
1:15:35 was it filled with the Koran right so if
1:15:37 you believe and you can see
1:15:39 oddly enough in Muslim countries
1:15:41 countries like Indonesia countries like
1:15:43 Egypt right where they have this thing
1:15:45 now where you can't call someone who's
1:15:47 not Muslim a kafir because it caused
1:15:49 like imagine how are Muslims supposed to
1:15:52 talk about their religion or teach their
1:15:55 children their religion if basic things
1:15:57 in the Koran like criticisms of another
1:15:59 religious tradition criticism and other
1:16:01 religious beliefs
1:16:03 talling someone who's almost I'm a kafir
1:16:05 if you can't do that or the Koran itself
1:16:07 becomes an article of hate speech so if
1:16:10 by the way freedom of speech laws or
1:16:13 hate speech laws are never used to
1:16:15 protect my to protect vulnerable
1:16:16 minorities like Muslims they're used to
1:16:18 protect the powerful when minorities get
1:16:22 out of line
1:16:23 yeah I see same but I think this would
1:16:26 become problematic if you phrased it I'm
1:16:28 not saying you I mean obviously you've
1:16:29 recanted well you've said or if you
1:16:31 phrased it in a way which is like I
1:16:33 support the the right for you know a
1:16:39 person to insult the Prophet know well
1:16:42 well I see this as he being the exact
1:16:44 same thing yeah yeah you're supporting
1:16:48 or you're supporting the idea longer
1:16:54 engage in because the whole from why
1:16:59 understood from Browns argument with the
1:17:01 gay speech at the gay marriage one is
1:17:03 that he doesn't think that gay marriage
1:17:05 has any place in the Sharia like it's a
1:17:08 non-factor from that perspective
1:17:10 gay marriage is just it's nothing it
1:17:12 doesn't exist it have no shot placement
1:17:16 whereas with this said burnaby even if
1:17:19 it's been done or which is vegan even if
1:17:23 it's been done to someone who is not
1:17:25 Muslim there's clear Sharia guidelines
1:17:28 on the kind of at least attitude that we
1:17:32 should have to those people so it would
1:17:34 be very I think will send the wrong
1:17:36 message if you say well I you know I
1:17:39 support people in this phraseology I
1:17:41 support the right for someone to insult
1:17:44 the Prophet Mohammed I that phraseology
1:17:46 is extremely emotion you with endorse
1:17:48 that phraseology but technically based
1:17:51 on the was only put in place
1:17:53 that statement wouldn't be bothered that
1:17:54 same it wouldn't be disagreeable to the
1:17:57 'soul you for in place but I think that
1:17:59 you can no no I think it would I mean
1:18:01 both whether it's whether it's the watt
1:18:04 or Sabha nebby little things are haram
1:18:07 yeah I didn't stuff you if you had if
1:18:11 you had a Muslim government like a
1:18:12 Muslim state right oh they want to be
1:18:15 Haram and southern it would be Haram
1:18:17 they'd be both illegal right if you
1:18:19 diddly wat you could be taken to court
1:18:21 and if you did something W could be
1:18:22 taken to court right whether you're a
1:18:24 Muslim or non-muslim so I I think that
1:18:28 they're there I don't I don't see a lot
1:18:31 of difference between them and they kind
1:18:33 of from the Sharia perspective III think
1:18:36 that there is a similarity that Georgia
1:18:39 is bringing up which is that it's it's
1:18:43 looking at how the Muslims thrive and
1:18:47 function in a society in which they are
1:18:49 a vulnerable minority right so that's
1:18:51 why I I mean I think that it's it's my I
1:18:56 mean for example there's we talked about
1:18:59 this before like you know there's
1:19:00 there's a lot of people in the United
1:19:02 States who want to who essentially want
1:19:05 to make having Muslim beliefs illegal
1:19:07 right and you don't I don't want to give
1:19:11 the government any power to make that
1:19:15 happen by giving the government power to
1:19:18 restrict speech to restrict belief right
1:19:21 so that's why I I don't I don't believe
1:19:24 in laws that restrict hate speech so
1:19:29 basically what you're saying is that you
1:19:30 you want the government to stop
1:19:32 legislating matters and become more soft
1:19:35 of a take a soft liberalist approach
1:19:38 because we'd be able to breathe - that's
1:19:42 really that's what I don't know what
1:19:43 you're saying okay I kind of get this
1:19:45 now but what I would like to put and put
1:19:47 forward submit to you guys today's I
1:19:50 think you make it very it that's the
1:19:53 position you're taking I understand it
1:19:54 there's two things I would would want to
1:19:56 suggest and I don't know what you think
1:19:58 of these recommendations yeah
1:20:01 recommendation number one if one
1:20:03 believes that they should be like more
1:20:04 of the
1:20:06 Tirion approach in terms of government
1:20:07 intervention social matters relating for
1:20:12 example to marriage divorce to religion
1:20:16 to morali etc and faster stance then I
1:20:20 would stop there
1:20:22 like yeah instantly in the sense that I
1:20:24 wouldn't build upon NSA so therefore I
1:20:27 support the right of X first gay person
1:20:30 to get married on the US law or that I
1:20:33 support the right of a person to insult
1:20:36 the Prophet and Hamid accessory ever
1:20:38 because that secondary aspect is where
1:20:42 the sugar can come in I believe the
1:20:44 sugar can come in I really can it really
1:20:46 really can and people can really confuse
1:20:48 your statement which you're building
1:20:50 upon different muscle yeah we should now
1:20:53 understand what they can really really
1:20:54 understand that as this person has
1:20:56 capitulated to Western narratives and is
1:21:00 bending over backwards to try and please
1:21:01 those individuals a secondary thing I
1:21:03 would want to recommend is I think
1:21:06 that's the big difference is saying this
1:21:08 would be better for the Muslims yeah in
1:21:10 in the sense that it would be better for
1:21:11 Muslim minority kaalia in a Muslim black
1:21:14 for such low to be in place instead of X
1:21:18 law instead of wine law so it's better
1:21:20 it's young it's less of an evil a half a
1:21:24 dollar reign for example the lesser of
1:21:25 two evils to make that very clear and to
1:21:28 use that language it's the lesser of two
1:21:29 evils for this thought to be in place
1:21:31 but then this law then to say this is
1:21:36 what I believe should the law should be
1:21:38 this as if this is the UH Salaam the
1:21:40 utopian kind of consideration that this
1:21:44 is what we want the roads because for us
1:21:45 the utopian things obviously Mike Oliver
1:21:48 loves Thailand so I think two things if
1:21:52 they're made very clear because I
1:21:55 understand dr. brand no I understand
1:21:57 what you're trying to say yeah I
1:21:58 understand how you built your own but if
1:22:00 you package it in that way say look I'm
1:22:03 not advocating that these doors are the
1:22:04 best laws I'm saying there's a lesser of
1:22:06 two evils it's better for the Muslim
1:22:08 community I'm not and support for anyone
1:22:10 they saw them the Prophet wants for this
1:22:12 and that it makes your position while
1:22:13 they did the very clear that it's almost
1:22:16 impossible for it to be attacked
1:22:19 unless you're gonna get some mo total
1:22:20 ravine or people from the you know
1:22:23 fringes attacking it but for now angle
1:22:26 you're firmly within the prism we are
1:22:28 firmly within the paradigm you don't
1:22:30 need to come out of the paradigm or
1:22:31 become a liberal or to any to write full
1:22:34 terms and to I think if you do that then
1:22:38 Hollis you've kind of cleaned it all up
1:22:40 you've mopped it all up
1:22:41 what would you would you guys think of
1:22:43 this and let me add something else to if
1:22:46 you put forth the libertarian view as
1:22:48 the Herford Notre Dame the lesser of two
1:22:51 evils
1:22:52 you can only be attacked on one ass on
1:22:56 one side which we can close that attack
1:22:58 and that attack would be someone saying
1:23:00 well you're opening the door to XYZ
1:23:04 horrible things also being said right
1:23:06 but you're you would close the door by
1:23:09 saying that's a Lundy that's possible to
1:23:11 happen what's guaranteed to happen is
1:23:13 that Muslims will have their right to do
1:23:15 their to worship their properly or
1:23:17 worship as they see fit
1:23:18 so that's guaranteed and the guaranteed
1:23:21 matter you know will take precedent and
1:23:24 is heavier than the possibility because
1:23:26 if you say government do not talk about
1:23:28 any speech do not been any books
1:23:30 Uncle Sam don't make to Sharia and don't
1:23:32 get involved right so yeah that means we
1:23:36 can write all we can have our Quran and
1:23:37 write all our books you think yeah and
1:23:39 and and someone say yeah but that also
1:23:42 allows for people to curse the prophets
1:23:44 of a sudden we're saying we're against
1:23:46 that but that's a Bundy that's maybe and
1:23:49 what's certain is that by this we
1:23:51 guarantee our right to to practice
1:23:54 already so that's just an argument the
1:23:55 great thing is it's very kicks in the
1:23:57 names it's like a list of two evils
1:23:59 right well there will be but what the
1:24:01 ratio thing is that is is there's not
1:24:03 two options there's the opt-out option
1:24:05 there's the rejection is that you've
1:24:07 mentioned it like four or five options
1:24:10 so it would it would be difficult to
1:24:12 make her less of two evils argument the
1:24:14 ratio thing but I think that with this
1:24:17 situation where you're talking about
1:24:18 generally speaking about laws which
1:24:20 don't infringe would you rather have
1:24:22 laws that do in French and they were
1:24:24 infringed Muslim right would you rather
1:24:26 have we'll just do infringe don't
1:24:28 infringe and then Muslims will be more
1:24:30 protected term divided by that and etc
1:24:32 yeah I think that initial initial
1:24:34 framework if you lay it out like that
1:24:36 then yeah very easy for someone to
1:24:38 follow will you say okay I understand
1:24:39 what ya which most of it yeah which is
1:24:43 why in a sullen fit I was taught early
1:24:46 on and or solid v they actually tend to
1:24:49 like to give outlandish examples just so
1:24:52 that you don't get bogged down in a
1:24:54 specific example and what happened with
1:24:56 this we you know what Jack was saying is
1:24:59 that I think because the example was a
1:25:02 real thing that's happening right now
1:25:04 like gay marriage or something to be
1:25:05 everyone I attention went to that
1:25:08 example yes yes yes yes yes yeah and I
1:25:12 think if so could we agree them in terms
1:25:15 of course obviously what we're trying to
1:25:17 do is in the sense we're trying to make
1:25:20 everything clear for the people I'm not
1:25:23 here to try and you guys masha'Allah
1:25:24 both of you a senior to me in every
1:25:26 single way I'm just giving you my
1:25:27 feedback from that from the lathe from
1:25:29 the ground from from well I genuinely
1:25:32 fear there is because I've had a lot of
1:25:34 these engagements with young people
1:25:36 especially because my demographic if my
1:25:37 18 to 35 there can be confusion yeah
1:25:41 forget about what the letter of like
1:25:43 we're not literalists in that sense that
1:25:45 you know they're exactly what he said
1:25:47 and if the world is there it can be
1:25:49 construed in certain can we on this
1:25:54 topic here on these kind of topics I've
1:25:56 just talked about
1:25:56 can we tighten up in terms of making the
1:25:58 position very clear can we is can we do
1:26:01 it re-edit over a rethinking or you said
1:26:04 that you're going to move more to share
1:26:06 these kind of perspective on things can
1:26:09 we reflect that in the writings about
1:26:10 the brand you think that's something
1:26:12 could based on the feedback that we've
1:26:14 been getting from from the ground for
1:26:15 people that are just observers and being
1:26:19 confused by some of those words or using
1:26:20 it as ammunition to do certain things
1:26:24 which aren't Islamic or even make
1:26:25 arguments China Sarah okay would be a
1:26:28 good idea I mean I mean I I think that
1:26:30 on the second thing that insulting the
1:26:32 Prophet is that Salaam I mean definitely
1:26:35 getting feedback on that was like you
1:26:39 know it gave me a chance to correct what
1:26:42 I you know correct myself
1:26:44 but you know I also want to make you
1:26:47 feel like I didn't write some article
1:26:49 where I laid out this argument for why I
1:26:52 wanted to say it's okay to insult like
1:26:54 you know what this was yeah yeah that
1:26:56 was literally I think that was like 8
1:26:57 p.m. on a day where I had gone
1:27:01 you gonna talk in Birmingham to talks in
1:27:05 Birmingham a talk in Hawks High Wycombe
1:27:08 I mean I literally it was like six hours
1:27:11 of talks it was like the end of six
1:27:14 hours of talks right I know what you
1:27:15 mean and the Q&A right and and so I mean
1:27:19 I don't
1:27:19 I obviously haven't told you my position
1:27:23 on what I said right but I mean yeah
1:27:25 it's not like I wrote some essay where I
1:27:26 drew attention to this in fact I would
1:27:29 actually say that if someone wanted to
1:27:31 criticize me they should have contacted
1:27:33 me personally and said hey man I just
1:27:34 saw this what do you think instead just
1:27:38 some of these people wrote like sort of
1:27:39 tweeting about this and being look at
1:27:41 horrible Jonathan Brown is which I
1:27:43 actually considered he pretty low you
1:27:45 know if you really care about me if you
1:27:46 really care about honoring the Prophet
1:27:48 then then tell me about it and I would
1:27:51 have immediately had them take that out
1:27:53 of the video right but instead no that's
1:27:55 not how people do they want to go and
1:27:57 get their pound of flesh and and insult
1:27:59 their brother and stuff like that so um
1:28:01 I would say about the thing about the
1:28:05 LGBT issue I think that what we
1:28:07 definitely should do you're clean is to
1:28:08 write another because this thing needs
1:28:11 to be discussed again because the
1:28:12 reality has changed so much yeah and the
1:28:16 issues have changed right so gay
1:28:17 marriage is not an issue anymore there's
1:28:20 a lot more issues around education in
1:28:23 schools notions of what gender is what
1:28:26 sexuality is you know issues around
1:28:28 trans rights it was very much more
1:28:30 oppressing and I think that needs to be
1:28:32 written about your view on this
1:28:34 transgender twitter's oh yeah I think
1:28:39 it's so funny people get so excited I
1:28:41 don't understand who got so upset about
1:28:42 this so like when you know might know my
1:28:45 gym you know we are general neighborhood
1:28:46 which I'm been to for god knows how long
1:28:48 because it scored 19 thing but you know
1:28:51 you go in there and it's like one room
1:28:52 and there's like a bunch of old dudes
1:28:53 showering you know totally naked when I
1:28:57 was in boarding school
1:28:58 I spent four years showering with like
1:29:01 20 other guys in one big room playing so
1:29:04 cocky and trying out to get peed on
1:29:06 that was what we spent four years doing
1:29:08 right yeah um I well I don't want that
1:29:13 for my kids right I don't want I have to
1:29:15 take my kids to this bathroom when I go
1:29:16 to the gym my signal swimming lessons I
1:29:18 have to go be like you know don't don't
1:29:21 look oh my god can I say something it's
1:29:25 really funny actually I think this is
1:29:28 okay like there's there's this guy
1:29:30 there's all these naked old guys in
1:29:32 there right so I'm like going to my like
1:29:34 kind of like guys can't don't look at
1:29:35 this stuff right so this one guy
1:29:38 standing there and my kid thank God I
1:29:40 thought the miss speak Arabic because
1:29:42 he's like 'they're Dajjal hadn't done
1:29:46 dukeman do sting dual man do still do I
1:29:49 said like nah that's like so scared if
1:29:55 he said that in English oh go ahead have
1:29:57 been the end of the world right I don't
1:29:59 know if you want to edit that out or not
1:30:00 but it was pretty point is my point is
1:30:03 like this is what I don't want to happen
1:30:05 what do I want it's very simple you go
1:30:07 to a bathroom there's a door open the
1:30:10 door there's a shower there's a toilet
1:30:12 or if you're not in a gym there's a
1:30:14 toilet right you go to the door no no
1:30:16 this like space under the bathroom and
1:30:18 of this you can see through the cracks
1:30:23 no what are you talking about no I don't
1:30:29 want anybody to be in the same toilet
1:30:31 with anybody else okay so you imagine
1:30:35 this you know in English in you guys a
1:30:38 water closet
1:30:38 I want a water closet right you go in
1:30:41 there's a closet you go in there's a
1:30:43 toilet and no one else is in there
1:30:44 that's what I want and I didn't even
1:30:51 look a to be honest I just someone sent
1:30:53 me because I don't know because people
1:30:55 are crazy I'm not sure what they're they
1:30:57 think but they somehow they think that I
1:31:00 want like men and women you know going
1:31:03 to the bathroom or next to each other
1:31:04 something that's not what I'm saying if
1:31:06 you you have a sink a bathroom it's not
1:31:08 even a stall like it's a door I don't
1:31:10 you've seen this in I don't if you've
1:31:12 seen this in like your
1:31:12 universities and stuff or buildings
1:31:14 right so there's like in a lot sneezes
1:31:16 like a men's room now and there's a
1:31:18 women's room which has multiple toilets
1:31:20 in them and then there was like a any of
1:31:22 us like gender-neutral bathroom which is
1:31:24 just one it's like just one toilet it's
1:31:27 only one place for one person you're
1:31:29 saying yeah that's what I want is
1:31:30 everything is just a bunch of one-person
1:31:32 toilets none of this like multiple
1:31:33 toilets what's that to you why does it
1:31:35 have to be gender specific like what you
1:31:37 know what's the agenda discussion about
1:31:40 this because that's the same thing that
1:31:42 a lot of trans advocates want well they
1:31:46 just want that not mean they don't just
1:31:48 want that right but they want that's it
1:31:50 in terms of bathrooms a lot of trans
1:31:52 advocates want to have bathrooms that
1:31:54 are just like gender-neutral single-use
1:31:57 single stall oh my god
1:32:05 this is Adobe it'll be a nightmare I
1:32:06 wouldn't ever use I mean who I don't
1:32:10 know anybody who wants that even women
1:32:11 like even women get upset about this
1:32:13 they're like you know you you can't go
1:32:14 in and like women dick you know let me
1:32:16 go to the bathrooms they put a makeup on
1:32:18 it's like a safe space they talk like a
1:32:21 disabled toilet what you're saying yes
1:32:23 exactly exactly and I love I go to those
1:32:26 all the time you can make will do in it
1:32:27 no one's gonna bother ya the sink is
1:32:31 usually quite low isn't it
1:32:32 it was not a problem for me maybe for
1:32:34 you yeah yeah I've seen some of your
1:32:41 videos with that uh you're like a black
1:32:44 belt in Egyptian kung-fu aren't you
1:32:51 coaches to do that what's the most
1:32:54 libertarian government out there I think
1:32:56 it's South Africa right yeah it's gonna
1:33:00 be South Africa and if that's the case
1:33:01 and we should see that you know there's
1:33:04 a lot of stuff gonna thrive in South
1:33:06 Africa where we're fighting these fights
1:33:07 against really like an increasing
1:33:09 cultural fascism right yeah and what
1:33:12 it's doing is it's hardening it's also
1:33:14 hardening the Muslims right and when
1:33:17 they're hardening whether we realize it
1:33:19 or not they're actually taking a lot of
1:33:21 it out on their own kind um people were
1:33:24 actually on their side who may have made
1:33:25 an expression
1:33:26 statement that they didn't really that
1:33:29 wasn't exactly perfect or according to
1:33:31 them perfect or whatever we have this
1:33:33 culture of making Muslims Ellison dot
1:33:38 really uncomfortable with their own kind
1:33:40 is a big problem the batter we always
1:33:42 say never scare your kids because your
1:33:45 kids will then seek happiness outside of
1:33:47 the home right you'll seek security and
1:33:50 fulfillment outside of the home so they
1:33:52 said always when you discipline your
1:33:54 kids keep that in mind
1:33:56 likewise when we have people doing
1:33:57 commanding right forbidding wrong and
1:33:59 trying to get to the right you know
1:34:01 result in conclusion of things if they
1:34:03 do this in a way that disgusts and
1:34:06 injures in fact other dads who are
1:34:09 venison as well trying to do the same
1:34:11 thing right then what they're gonna do
1:34:13 is people are gonna click off they're
1:34:16 not gonna go online anymore and many
1:34:18 people will not benefit from them
1:34:19 whereas had they had a moderate of
1:34:21 discussion with them then the point
1:34:25 would have been corrected and the people
1:34:26 who still benefit right so there's
1:34:28 everyone benefits but what's going on
1:34:30 now is I don't know what it is people
1:34:32 pent up frustration with kovat 19 why is
1:34:35 it that Twitter I this is what I see I
1:34:37 don't know for you you tell me it's been
1:34:39 taken over by dislike kharijite
1:34:42 attitudes if you have one mistake one
1:34:46 thing we're gonna meme you to death
1:34:48 we're gonna attack you happy people have
1:34:50 no name myself but you notice I think is
1:34:59 good for my class like it's really good
1:35:01 because when you just consistently
1:35:02 praise praise praise praise if that's
1:35:05 the worst thing for your like
1:35:07 psycho-spiritual state like sometimes
1:35:09 you just need to get it sprayed yeah but
1:35:12 but would you do that to somebody else's
1:35:15 MN do Mac people those those guys those
1:35:19 rodents out there those flies yeah these
1:35:22 the they have a function and the
1:35:24 function is to keep us we could see yeah
1:35:26 these these cockroaches that's their
1:35:29 they're like sort of cockroaches and
1:35:30 rats and hyenas really hyenas yes they
1:35:33 like to attack someone at the moment
1:35:36 that they're down and laugh at it in a
1:35:38 while we don't even know his name he's
1:35:39 like
1:35:40 ever something or some silly name or
1:35:43 whatever their box no almost I think
1:35:48 that we really it's hard to direct it
1:35:50 because we're directing it at a general
1:35:52 audience but this culture to me is
1:35:54 disgusting and it's always like yeah why
1:35:57 am i part of this you know it's actually
1:35:59 true and what I wanted to ask you guys
1:36:01 is or maybe as a general advice now
1:36:04 because you guys have spoken about some
1:36:05 of the controversies people I'm sure
1:36:07 follow some of you guys's work and I've
1:36:10 read some of your stuff and certainly
1:36:12 has been effective I mean to be because
1:36:15 we've spoken all the controversies like
1:36:17 some of the stuff that historical
1:36:19 analysis done from brown on slavery as I
1:36:21 believe genuinely saved some people's in
1:36:24 mana I genuinely believe that and surely
1:36:27 master day I haven't been so as familiar
1:36:28 with your work but took quite recently
1:36:30 but once again I'm very sure that people
1:36:33 have benefited from that and canals from
1:36:34 you guys now for people that are
1:36:37 suffering from doubts I mean this is
1:36:38 something you clean the Institute has
1:36:40 focused on quite a lot their doubts and
1:36:43 trying to rectify them what kind of
1:36:46 things would you recommend this either
1:36:48 actions or readings or four people that
1:36:52 Muslims are growing up and a little bit
1:36:54 confused with these topics of
1:36:56 controversy within a stem like slavery
1:36:58 like you know I don't know dude what you
1:37:01 wrote written about apostasy all these
1:37:05 things what kind of general advice would
1:37:08 you give a closing advice would you give
1:37:11 to people in regards to dealing with
1:37:13 their doubt and tackling some of these
1:37:15 intellectual challenges let's start of
1:37:17 Shadia shouting all right so I would say
1:37:20 look yeah you don't look at the
1:37:22 specifics look at the source and ask
1:37:25 yourself do you trust in this source and
1:37:28 if your answer is i 100% believe in a
1:37:35 Lana's messenger and that their words
1:37:38 have been protected and you know the
1:37:42 understanding of Islam and the Sharia on
1:37:44 the mainstream Sharia is what they
1:37:46 intended okay so there's two parts to it
1:37:48 and I trust Anna Lana's messenger
1:37:52 and I know that they are there they have
1:37:53 more knowledge than any of us are gonna
1:37:55 have they have more wisdom they have
1:37:58 more mercy and they're seeking benefit
1:38:00 for Humanity okay more than I will ever
1:38:03 want those things or possess those
1:38:05 qualities that's foundation is there
1:38:09 stabilized then it's a matter of just
1:38:13 remembering that whenever one of their
1:38:15 rulings does not sit with my head and I
1:38:18 just have to remember who will lo yeah I
1:38:21 don't want too much animal that's how
1:38:22 she put it
1:38:23 I'm not color I might not be comfortable
1:38:25 with a specific matter
1:38:27 then I should accuse myself because I've
1:38:30 already entrusted I've already trusted
1:38:32 the foundation and so I should remember
1:38:35 that it's me who myself who may not
1:38:37 understand may yes temporarily feel a
1:38:40 hardship okay and maybe I've maybe I've
1:38:44 misunderstood their ruling to begin with
1:38:47 as well so I have to look at who am i
1:38:49 learning from because I may have been
1:38:51 learning from someone who's not clear so
1:38:53 these are the points that any time that
1:38:55 this happens we should go to these
1:38:56 simple points of remember who you trust
1:38:59 make sure you've understood their words
1:39:01 properly because maybe you have
1:39:02 misunderstood number two and number
1:39:04 three remember to accuse yourself if you
1:39:08 truly understood and I still feeling
1:39:11 something why am I feeling something who
1:39:12 am i right
1:39:13 look at me and look at the universe
1:39:15 Allah created this universe right so if
1:39:18 you just go back to the source lies that
1:39:21 and also just study with the right
1:39:23 sources is the right sources of
1:39:24 Education may clarify what you have
1:39:27 misunderstood about the revelation I
1:39:33 mean I would say you know I would say I
1:39:36 would start by a second which daddy said
1:39:38 in the second part which is you know you
1:39:39 have to find people who you respect
1:39:41 people who are good teachers and you
1:39:46 have to find more than one right so like
1:39:47 you know there's off you hear people say
1:39:49 like master bedroom in shade come in
1:39:51 Catherine Messiah for it so like you you
1:39:53 you have it's if you you have this is
1:39:57 this is it's tough man it's really tough
1:39:59 for Muslims in the West I mean I think
1:40:02 it's probably true for Muslims in them
1:40:04 well similar to but it's really
1:40:05 really really tough because it's really
1:40:07 hard to find good teachers it's hard to
1:40:10 find people who can who know the
1:40:11 tradition really well will understand
1:40:13 the reality around them really well and
1:40:15 then who understand how to put the two
1:40:16 together that is very very rare but
1:40:20 between online lectures between people
1:40:23 you know in your community between books
1:40:25 I think there's resources out there
1:40:26 you're clean tries to be that type of
1:40:28 resource shoddy Safina society tries to
1:40:31 be that could resource daddys teaching
1:40:32 is one of those resources JD's books
1:40:34 he's written a book on Toki that I have
1:40:36 on al-qaeda which is very good maybe you
1:40:40 can do classes like that online shadow
1:40:42 know if you already have that we got a
1:40:43 visa put those out for people right um
1:40:46 so finding people that you trust and but
1:40:50 also realize that those are people right
1:40:52 so that's why I think you have to have
1:40:53 more than one and then we've seen a lot
1:40:55 of this unfortunately last couple of
1:40:56 years right somebody puts they're all
1:40:58 there like for them Islam becomes tied
1:41:01 to this one do I doubt yeah this one
1:41:03 shake and that person has some kind of
1:41:05 problem and then that person that that
1:41:07 Muslims a man is crushed they don't know
1:41:09 what to do you don't remember these or
1:41:12 they're not our people scholars our
1:41:14 people leaders or people they have their
1:41:16 own problems there are there they have
1:41:18 imperfections right and especially they
1:41:20 face the temptations when you become a
1:41:22 public personality you're faced with
1:41:24 temptations that you never imagined
1:41:26 having before that right ok so that's
1:41:32 the first thing the second thing I'd say
1:41:33 is and this is this is really what I've
1:41:35 tried to hit over and over and over
1:41:38 again in my writings and my lectures
1:41:41 just have some humility our world the
1:41:46 modern world is a world of immense
1:41:48 arrogance in which whatever the latest
1:41:52 thing is it's correct it's the best
1:41:54 everything else before that was wrong
1:41:56 and that is not we are human beings we
1:41:59 are specie or an animal we are a
1:42:01 rational animal we belong to a tradition
1:42:04 that has been around for thousands of
1:42:06 years it has received the wisdom of God
1:42:08 for thousands of years right that has
1:42:11 been raising kids and eating food and
1:42:15 making bread and drinking milk for
1:42:17 thousands of years
1:42:19 the idea that somehow we're gonna come
1:42:21 around and come up with some totally new
1:42:23 vision about how we're gonna think about
1:42:24 reality and our species and our bodies
1:42:27 and everything and somehow that we're
1:42:29 gonna go and prescribe this for
1:42:30 everybody else when we literally don't
1:42:32 even know it's really I mean look you
1:42:35 know my parents and your you know
1:42:38 Shaggy's parents you're they were like
1:42:40 the hippie you know the sixties and
1:42:42 seventies generation we don't even have
1:42:44 one full generation of people who lived
1:42:46 through the sexual revolution let alone
1:42:48 seeing what that does their kids let
1:42:50 alone see what that what recent
1:42:51 developments have done to families and
1:42:54 to society and to go and say that not
1:42:56 only does everybody in the world have to
1:42:58 live this way but if you don't view the
1:43:00 world this way that you're some kind of
1:43:01 monster that is the pinnacle of
1:43:04 arrogance and it's not just arrogant
1:43:06 it's it's highly unwise I mean would you
1:43:08 go and and take a medicine and say
1:43:10 without even seeing its effect on
1:43:12 someone's body over the long term but
1:43:14 when prescribed us for everyone else in
1:43:15 the world and tell everyone else in the
1:43:17 world that they are a horrible person if
1:43:18 they don't take this medicine or accept
1:43:19 it
1:43:20 this is extremely unwise it's unwise for
1:43:22 us as a species to make these kind of to
1:43:24 have this arrogance about the modern
1:43:26 period about the present so that's what
1:43:28 I try over and over again is is if you
1:43:30 really study the past you realize how
1:43:34 giant and enormous and wide human
1:43:37 experiences and you stop being what
1:43:40 makes us alone and what makes us afraid
1:43:42 is when we look at our religion and we
1:43:44 look at our beliefs that were taught and
1:43:45 we put them against these these present
1:43:47 standards that are given to us that are
1:43:48 did reign over us all around us we feel
1:43:51 terrible when you look into the past you
1:43:53 realize that this is a long story we're
1:43:56 not alone there's huge variety in our
1:43:59 species and in our experience in our
1:44:01 history and that becomes something is
1:44:02 comforting that's why when I wrote this
1:44:04 book on slavery that's like I wanted to
1:44:06 understand for myself how do i morally
1:44:09 make sense of this like I'm not some
1:44:11 kind of monster like I say it disgusts
1:44:14 me how do I make sense of this as a
1:44:17 Muslim that's what I wanted to do and
1:44:19 what the conclusion I came to which
1:44:21 really helped me and I hope help other
1:44:22 people is like it once you realize it
1:44:24 you know in the grand scheme of human
1:44:26 history these moral certainties are
1:44:28 simply not moral certainties
1:44:31 that is a very liberating very
1:44:33 liberating thing and I think that
1:44:35 humility it gives you peace it makes you
1:44:38 a more productive helpful member of
1:44:40 society
1:44:41 remember society to understand that
1:44:43 other people might have different views
1:44:44 than you that you still have to live
1:44:46 together and deal with one another which
1:44:47 is by the way something that people in
1:44:49 our society in the UK in Britain are
1:44:50 increasingly not willing to do right
1:44:52 okay those are my those are my two
1:44:54 things my two pieces of advice Allah
1:44:57 bless you both has been a pleasant very
1:44:59 pleasant and action-packed podcast and
1:45:03 obviously guys are welcome anytime to
1:45:05 join me again on this podcast thank you
1:45:08 very much man
1:45:09 excellent salam ala rasoolillah castle