If Islam is a “religion of peace” then how is it that an Islamic cleric can preach violence against non-Muslims at one of Sunni Islam’s holiest sites? That’s what allegedly occurred when Palestinian Cleric Abdallah Ayed preached the brutal takeover of U.S. and Russian capitals (address was put on the internet September 14). The Middle East Media Research Institute provides the video as well as the transcript of the speech:

Oh America, let me tell you about the day when the call to prayer will be heard from on top of the White House and from the red palace of the Kremlin in Moscow. We shall shout “Allah Akbar” from there, because Allah has promised both places to us. Allah promised the Prophet Muhammad that Islam would rule the entire land.

[…]

Oh Allah, in these blessed days, and from your Al-Aqsa Mosque, the center of blessings, we seek Your protection. We seek shelter and refuge with You. We ask You to vanquish America and Russia. Oh Allah, blow up their capital cities and their planes, pulverize their ships, and kill their soldiers. Oh Allah, we ask You to subjugate them and burn them, just like they have subjugated us and burned our children with napalm. Oh Allah, burn all that they have with Your fire, just like they burned our children with their fire. Your fire is stronger. You are the strongest. You are the Powerful. Put an end to our humiliation. Oh Lord, bring about our Caliphate soon. Oh Lord, kill our enemies. Oh Lord, make our mujahideen powerful, and unite them under Your banner and the banner of Your Prophet Muhammad. Oh Allah, burn [our enemies] and bring down their banners, and make a lesson out of them in this world and the Hereafter.

Imagine the sheer outrage if a rabbi spouted a message at the Western Wall about retaking even that one mosque, which was originally Judaism’s highest temple.  Imagine if some Southern Baptist pastor said something similar about turning the mosques in Mecca into a church.  The media would go in a frenzy.

When it comes to Islam there is a double standard.  Muslim leaders like Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas get away with encouraging “martyrdom,” or rather suicide attacks, against Israel.  They degrade Jewish people while still receiving funding from Western countries, including the U.S.

The fact that such hatred is tolerated around mainstream Islam gives a good indicator of where to start when looking for reasons to why this is happening.  It comes from the very center of the faith, encoded in verses like Quran 3:151, 5:33, 9:73, 9:123, or 66:9.  Those verses and many others, taken at face value, urge Muslims to spread violence in the name of Islam.

It’s not hard to find such verses in the Quran or the Hadith, but it’s up for Muslims to decide if they are consistent with what they understand to be the true message of the life and teachings of Muhammad.  Abdallah Ayed has revealed where he stands.  Hopefully other Muslims don’t follow suit.