Qatar’s government is still promoting Friday sermons by extremist preachers, who engage in anti-Semitic incitement, at its state-controlled Grand Mosque and on state-owned television, David A. Weinberg warned in a post on the Anti-Defamation League’s blog on Tuesday.
In a sermon in December 2017, preacher Muhammed al-Muraikhi told the Muslim world that Jews have “enmity and hatred to you in their blood and their veins”. He described the Jewish people as “your deceitful, lying, treacherous, fornicating, intransigent enemy” who “has despoiled, corrupted, ruined, and killed, and will not stop.”
Muraikhi dismissed the Jewish people’s connection to Jerusalem and the Holy Land as an “invalid, falsified historical claim,” and charged that Jews would never be satisfied with concessions from Palestinians or with “so-called coexistence.” Instead, he called upon all Muslims to “cleanse” al-Aqsa from “the filth” of the Jews.
“Despite all that the Zionists do and all that Satan helps them with support and assistance and providing weapons and everything they ask for,” he praised the Palestinians for their resistance.
Weinberg warned that despite Qatar’s pledge to control what is being said in their mosques, a prominent platform is given to extremist preachers, who “promote strident anti-Semitic” views, and urged President Trump and other political leaders to bring the matter up with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Tuesday. From the White House’s readout of the meeting between Trump and al-Thani, it does not appear that Qatari government-sponsored anti-Semitic incitement was discussed.
Weinberg referenced the case of another Qatari hate preacher. Abdullah al-Naama delivered an extremist sermon at the Grand Mosque on July 21st, 2017, in which he charged that “hypocrites” within the Muslim community resort “to the Jews and the polytheists as a refuge.” He added that they “are among the ranks of the adversary, for where are they during [literally “from”] the defiling of the Holy Sanctuary?”, accusing Israel of desecrating the Temple Mount.
Naama, also praised the “mujahideen” in the Gaza Strip, language commonly used by global jihadist organizations like ISIS and al-Qaeda to celebrate their suicide bombers.
According to the ADL, despite clear incitement against Jews and Muslims who wish to coexist peacefully, “Naama and Muraikhi have been the only preachers selected to deliver weekly Friday sermons at the Grand Mosque since that date.”
In addition, Weinberg stated that the Gulf emirate “continued to host extremist preachers at the mosque that services the learning institutions on Qatar’s Education City campus”, which include the satellite campuses for Cornell, Texas A&M, Virginia Commonwealth, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, and Georgetown Universities. In their sermons, the preachers incited violence against Jews and argue for the execution of homosexuals.
The Education City Mosque organized four sermons by extremist preacher Shaqer al-Shahwani, who has “been sanctioned by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain on charges of engaging in a fundraising campaign for al-Qaeda.”
The ADL called on the Trump administration to demand from “Doha to actively combat extremism.”
[Photo: Associated Press / YouTube]