Canadian Imam Younus Kathrada said in a Friday, May 13, 2022 sermon that Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh died as a non-Muslim, even though she “did well” by exposing the “crimes” of the Jewish Zionists, those who claim her as a martyr and in paradise are followers of Satan. Writes Hugh Fitzgerald
Much of the Muslim world has been engaged in denouncing Israel for what the Muslims describe as Israel’s deliberate killing of journalist Shireen Al-Akleh. The Israelis say they do not know who was responsible for the death of the Al Jazeera journalist, who at the time of her death had been covering, from 150 meters away, the battle between IDF soldiers and violent Arabs in Jenin. Israel has requested access to the fatal bullet, so that its own forensic experts can study it, most likely with American experts also taking part. The Palestinians have adamantly refused. When two sides are in dispute, and one side refuses to produce the evidence it holds, while the other side wants only to engage in a thorough examination with oversight by a third part (the U.S.), we know which side is hiding something, and which we can trust.
The Canadian Imam Younus Kathrada is enraged at those Muslims who are busy lionizing Abu Akleh, calling her a “martyr” and insisting she is in “Paradise.” As a non-Muslim, Kathrada claims, Abu Aklen cannot possibly be a “martyr” – a term reserved for Muslims who die fighting the Infidels. Nor could she possibly be in Heaven, a place reserved for Muslims. A report on his furious outburst is here: “Canadian Imam Younus Kathrada: Palestinian Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh Died As A Non-Muslim; Those Who Say She Is In Paradise Are Followers Of Satan,” MEMRI, May 13, 2022:
The summary of his sermon about Shireen Abu Akleh is here:
Canadian Imam Younus Kathrada said in a Friday, May 13, 2022 sermon that was uploaded to the Muslim Youth Victoria YouTube channel that Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh died as a non-Muslim, even though she “did well” by exposing the “crimes” of the Jewish Zionists. He criticized those who claim that she is a “martyr” and in Paradise, saying that they [the Muslims who make these claims] are the “followers of Satan.” In addition, Kathrada prayed for Allah to bring annihilation upon the criminal and plundering Jews. For more about Younus Kathrada, see MEMRI TV clips nos. 9050, 8409, 8289, 8003, 7896, 7534, 7098, 6950, and 6906.
If you look at past appearances of Younus Kathrada at MEMRI.org, you will see he is one of the most blood-curdling of Islamic preachers in the West. He has repeatedly called for “the total annihilation” not just of Zionists, but of all “the criminal and plundering Jews.” He also routinely denounces other non-Muslims. He has said that “congratulating Christians at Christmas is worse than murder.” After the massacre at a mosque in New Zealand, he railed in a sermon that “Western governments, law enforcement, and media are to blame for the massacre,” because they fuel the fires of Islamophobia. He criticized Western governments for shedding blood overseas and “expect[ing] that not to come back at them.” He also accused law enforcement of being involved in “entrapping” Muslims, and said that the Muslim community should not trust them, because it is like “asking a wolf to look over your sheep.” He also said that police officials who come to holiday meals at mosques probably come to spy on the mosque members.
In 2019, just before Canadian elections, Kathrada said this to his congregation: “If you are planning on voting, then remember that there are two angels on your shoulders, recording everything that you do and say. This voting is a testimony and it will be recorded. On Judgement Day, you will stand before Allah and be asked about it. If you plan on voting… Ask yourself, prepare the answer first – what I am going to tell Allah when Allah asks me: ‘You voted for that filthy non-Muslim – why?’ He or she approves of homosexuality, which Allah declared forbidden from above the seven heavens. You think that they want good for you? I already told you what Allah said: ‘Never will [the Jews and the Christians] be pleased with you.’ They will continue to oppose you. You are fighting a losing battle. They are all evil. Every single one of them. There may be some rare circumstances, where we would say: ‘Okay, voting may benefit us.’ This is not one of them! They are all evil and filthy. Do you know that every one of them, without exception, supports the Zionists against Islam and the Muslims?”
He has said that “Jihad in Islam does not mean terrorism, but that it rather means the establishment of justice. He further elaborated that establishing justice means establishing Islam all over the world. In addition, he asked Allah to “deal with the enemies of Islam.”
In still another sermon, Kathrada said that “when Islam’s opponents insult The Prophet Muhammad, it is worse than police killings of black people; we should not accept the argument that this is Free Speech.”
In a sermon many months ago, just after the beheading of Samuel Paty, the French teacher who showed a cartoon of Muhammad to his class as part of a discussion on free speech, Younus Kathrada had this to say:
In any event, not too long ago, a teacher in France chose to show those insulting cartoons to his class, at school. And of course, some of the Muslim students who were there were very annoyed and upset and they objected – as did their parents. They spoke up, but nobody bothered listening to them. Nobody paid any attention to them.
Then, about a week ago, it is said – I repeat, it is said – that a young Muslim man confronted this cursed individual, he confronted this evil-spirited man, he confronted this filthy excuse for a human being, on the street, and he beheaded him.
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Right now, we are angry at what these filthy people are doing, so one of the things that you and I can do is to boycott all French products and services.
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Oh Allah, give strength to Islam and Muslims, and humiliate the infidels and the polytheists. Oh Allah, destroy the enemies of Islam, and annihilate the heretics and the atheists.
And here is part of a sermon Kathrada delivered just after the Americans pulled out of Afghanistan:
The [Jews and Christians] are willing to spend mountains of gold in order to take us away from Islam. So they will spend it, but don’t fear, at the end of the day, they are not going to win. Allah tells us that they will spend it, and that it will be for them a source of regret. Hmmm… A source of regret… Twenty years in Afghanistan, I don’t need to say any more… A source of regret. Then they will be overcome. Does this sound familiar to you? Have you been listening to the news? Let’s say: Allah Akbar.
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They will attack what is most sacred to us. But all of that [which] they do is only a small portion of what is really in their hearts, of the hatred that they have towards us in their hearts.
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Do not think that the Jews and Christians are our friends – they are our enemies.
Here is his latest denunciation of a Christian – but in this case, the Christian is the late journalist for Al Jazeera, Shireen Abu Akleh, whose death the Palestinians claim was caused by an Israeli soldier; Abu Akleh has become the object of both glorification by the Palestinians and of rage at the Zionists for her death. But for Kathrada, Abu Akleh was a Christian, and it is therefore wrong for Muslims to mourn her death, to suggest that she was a “martyr,” or to claim that she could even be considered for the Muslim Heaven.
Here is his uncompromising stance on Akleh and all other non-Muslims:
Over the last couple of days, after the murder of that journalist [Shireen Abu Akleh]… And she did well, we are not denying… But that is not even our subject… We are not denying that she did well when she exposed the Zionist Jews and all the crimes that they commit. That is not even the issue. We are grateful to her for that.
The issue is what came after, she died as a non-Muslim. And we have among us those who are saying that she will be in Paradise. [We have] among us those who say that she is a martyr.
Allah be praised, what right and authority do we have to say that Allah has decreed that non-Muslims will be in the Hellfire, and then we come to say: ‘No, she is going to be in Paradise.’
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So those who are making those statements that we are hearing, they are indeed the followers of Satan.
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Oh Allah, support those who wage jihad for Your sake everywhere!
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Oh Allah, bring annihilation upon the plundering Jews! Oh Allah, bring annihilation upon the criminal Jews! Oh Allah, bring annihilation upon the Jews who attacked Your abode, Jerusalem! Oh Allah, bring annihilation upon them, for they are no match for You! Oh Allah, send down Your wrath upon them! Oh Allah, shake the ground beneath their feet! Oh Allah, make us rejoice by returning the Al-Aqsa Mosque to Islam and the Muslims! Oh Allah, make us rejoice by making our brothers victorious over those plundering and criminal Jews!”
So there you have it. In his mosque in British Columbia, Kathrada has for years been denouncing the Christians because they are “full of hate for the Muslims”; they are a people whom Allah must destroy. And still more fanatically, he keeps calling for the “annihilation” of the “plundering and criminal Jews.” He praises the decapitation of the teacher Samuel Paty, a punishment Paty deserved for showing his class in France a cartoon of Muhammad as part of a discussion on free speech. “The Christians and Jews hate us and act against us, but that [which] they do is only a small portion of what is really in their hearts, of the hatred that they have towards us in their hearts. “Do not think that the Jews and Christians are our friends – they are our enemies.”
In Kathrada’s telling, the Jews and Christians are deeply malignant; they wish Muslims to be destroyed. They are never the friends to Muslims, no matter how they behave outwardly. Do not be fooled by them. They are the enemies of Muslims everywhere and forever; they can never be trusted. Have nothing to do with them. Even to wish the “filthy Christians” a Merry Christmas is “worse than murder.”
My question is this: does the Government of Canada wish to do anything about someone who repeatedly denounces Jews and Christians, calls for their “annihilation,” claims they can never be trusted and are full of hatred for Muslims? Kathrada warns his audience that no friendship should be shown the non-Muslims, nor respect for their religions. Section 319(1) and 319(2) of Canada’s criminal code read as follows:
Section 319: Inciting or promoting hatred
Section 319(1): Publicly inciting hatred—makes it an offence to communicate statements in a public place which incite hatred against an identifiable group, where it is likely to lead to a breach of the peace. The Crown prosecutor can proceed either by indictment or by summary process. The maximum penalty is imprisonment of not more than two years. There is no minimum punishment.
Section 319(2): Promoting hatred—makes it an offence to wilfully promote hatred against any identifiable group, by making statements (other than in private conversation). The Crown prosecutor can proceed either by indictment or by summary process. The maximum penalty is imprisonment of not more than two years.
Has not Younus Kathadra been both “inciting” and “promoting” hatred of Jews and Christians for many years? Why have no charges been brought? I suspect the answer lies with the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, who during his entire tenure has bent over backwards not to appear to be “Islamophobic,” and who will continue to refrain from prosecuting such people as Younus Kathrada, unless and until an outraged public finally forces him to act. That will only happen if the mainstream media in Canada starts to focus its attention on Kathrada’s hate-filled sermons instead of ignoring them, as it has been doing, inexplicably, for so long. And then Trudeau’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General will be able to charge Kathadra with both “inciting” and “promoting” hatred. In 319(1), the Crown can argue that violence would result if his audience in the mosque took to heart his imprecations against Christians and Jews, and upon exiting, set upon either Jews and Christians or their property, including houses of worship. In 319(2) the “promotion of hatred” is easier to prove; one need only enter into evidence a half-dozen of his discussions about “filthy, criminal” Jews and Christians full of hatred for Muslims.
Kathrada’s conviction should not be difficult. And if, upon being released from a sentence that, alas, can only be for a maximum of two years, or four years if he is convicted of violating both 319(1) and 319(2), he reverts to his previous hate-filled rants, then he can be charged again under 319(1) and 319(2), and convicted again, and made to spend another two to four years in jail. Rinse, repeat, for as long as it takes.
