The situation between Jordan and ISIS may be escalating, but one person has no qualms about defending the brutal burning of the Jordanian pilot released earlier this week.
Radical Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary, who is certainly never shy to make an opinion, echoed the claims of the ISIS murderers, saying that Allah approves of the killing, which has escalated tensions in the Middle East.
Choudary made the remarks to NewsmaxTV host Steve Malzberg Thursday afternoon, with whom the cleric has sparred with in the past.
“What’s your take on what happened to that pilot? Do you approve of what happened to that pilot?” Malzberg asked.
“Well having seen the clip for the first time this morning, I can see that it has several intended affects. One of them is to terrorize the enemy, and I think it’s had that effect,” Choudary said. “It’s had a huge propaganda effect all around the world. Now, if you want to look at this from a Islamic perspective, what they are arguing is that it is reciprocation.”
“The fact is that the pilots, not just this Jordanian one but many others via drones and other bombing campaigns have burnt a lot of bad women and children, and indiscriminately. Obviously we don’t see the pictures and images of those because they are not available,” Choudary said. “But hundreds of thousands of Muslims are being killed, most of them by aerial bombardment in Syria and Iraq and, obviously before, in Afghanistan.”
“And what these people are saying is this is reciprocation. So they have a juristic argument to retaliate in a similar manner,” Choudary continued, “this is what Allah said in the Quran: fight them back the way that they fight you.”
“So I’m asking you, this is condoned by Muhammad?” This is what Muhammad taught and would teach? Is that what you’re saying?” asked an exasperated Malzberg. “Is this justified?”
“In defensive jihad…in this scenario, whatever the Muslims can do within the realms of the acceptable behavior, they are doing. And part of that is terrorizing the enemy.”
Malzberg and Choudary continued to spar over the last two minutes of the interview, with the two interrupting each other and leading the NewsmaxTV host to thank the Muslim cleric for appearing and “saying nothing, as usual.”
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