Mr. Adnan Oktar's live talk with Prof. Charles Asher Small, Director of Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy on A9 TV (29 December 2011; 11:00)
Harun Yahya: Love, rational thinking and common sense will emerge victorious
Harun Yahya: Love, rational thinking and common sense will emerge victorious
CHARLES ASHER SMALL: So, I guess my first question would be from a religious perspective, as well as from a philosophical, moral and ethical perspective, the treatment of the other is an important aspect of religion, if not civilization. So, from a political/moral perspective, I'm influenced by the work -for example- of Emmanuel Levinas, and the treatment of the other and he argues that when we see ourselves, we see ourselves in the face of the other, that this is the moment we become human; this is the moment when we realize the godliness in the other person, that we're all created in the image of God. And can you speak please, I guess from an Islamic perspective, from your teachings and from your perspective, the importance of acknowledging and respecting the other vis-a-vis, in the case that I'm interested in, anti-Semitism or other forms of discrimination; how does that affect the morality of the individual from an Islamic perspective?
ADNAN OKTAR: Anti-Semitism is impossible in our age, at a time when we have the internet and television and when people can easily access information of all kinds. It is a system that applied during the Middle Ages, when cruel and ruthless ideas predominated. But we are now a society of love. The world is heading in the direction of love. Of union, unity and brotherhood. We are in the age of the Messiah, the King Messiah, the Mahdi. There is no room for such primitive and oppressive ideas as anti-Semitism in such an age, and we will never permit it. Islam is a religion of love and peace. All the religions demand love, peace and brotherhood. It is the same in Judaism and Christianity and Islam. The name 'Islam' means 'peace', as befits it. It's origin comes from the Arabic root word meaning peace, and it can thus be best understood from this as well. Allah wants us to be forgiving, affectionate, compassionate, loving and sincere. And the Qur'an tells us to learn about science and research. It wants art, beauty and goodness to reign over the world. And that is the age we have now entered. There will be no more oppressive systems from now on.
CHARLES ASHER SMALL: I pray to God that he is right, and I appreciate his answer, but I would argue that through the use of the internet, through globalization at the one hand, globalization is bringing people together as never before, perhaps in the history of humanity and, at the same time it's separating and segregating people through all sorts of economic, social and cultural processes. And in fact the internet and globalization, a part of it is a rise in hatred. I would say for example that internet websites are preaching hatred, even though sometimes people are preaching love and togetherness; there is a movement that's preaching hatred. For example, the lies of European anti-Semitism, the anti-Semitism which existed before the internet which was basically a European issue more so than any other part of the world, but this European anti-Semitism is actually infiltrating into the Islamic world at a very alarming rate; and for example, the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" which was a forged document, a fake document.
CHARLES ASHER SMALL: So, we were speaking earlier about how Islam and Christianity and Judaism and other religions are religions of love, and this is essentially a time of love in Messianic times, but I was saying that the internet is also a conveyor of hate that's bringing people together to hate, and in some countries like Turkey, the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" which is a lie, which is a European genocidal anti-Semitic discourse, is now entering into the Islamic world. I was wondering what he thinks about this phenomenon.
ADNAN OKTAR: Such ideas have long existed in the Islamic world and in Europe. But love, rational thinking and common sense have always emerged victorious. We cannot abandon the world to psychopaths, of course. The world has now entered the Golden Age under the leadership of the Mahdi, the King Messiah. And that development is still continuing. Tyrants and the supporters of satan encourage ruthlessness, bloodshed, psychopathic behavior and persecution. But the supporters of Allah, those who love Allah, espouse love, peace, brotherhood, art, science and democracy. The supporters of Allah will be victorious. That is explicitly set out in the Torah and the Qur'an. Look, it is vital that we know that there is an urgent need for the way of the Mahdi, the King Messiah, the Mahdi, and to seek these individuals who have been foretold and praised. That is so important, the key to solution.
CHARLES ASHER SMALL: Okay, so I agree on that level, but now that we're living in the physical world, at this moment of history, where people are using religion to preach hatred and not love, how do we, from an Islamic perspective, how are people in power to counteract, to confront those for example who speak of the Jews in the narrative of the "Protocols", from Indonesia to Tehran to Gaza, people are using these European anti-Semitic narratives and infusing it as true Islam. How do true believers in Islam react or confront this evil?
ADNAN OKTAR: These are of no scientific value of these. They need not be taken seriously because our criterion is the Qur'an. And the Qur'an teaches love and compassion. Almighty Allah says we may marry the People of the Book, a Jewish woman, for instance. That provision is sufficient all by itself. How does a person regard his wife? As his beloved, the jewel in his crown. His wife is the person he trusts most of all. She is the mother of his children. I mean, should he look at her in the light of that document, or of the ruling in the Qur'an? Therefore, documents of no scientific worth or faith, devoid of any Qur'anic values, are not valid for any rational Muslim. I think you are wrong to be uneasy over this. Relax, trust in Allah, and never forget we are in the age of the King Messiah. Ask Allah to show the King Messiah and pray for the immediate building of the Temple of Solomon. This century will be a glorious one for Jews. Their finest years. The years when Islam comes to reign. The Jews will enjoy a Golden Age under the leadership of the person known as the Mahdi, or the King Messiah. They will enter a time of peace and happiness. The age they have been waiting for over the last 3,000 years is this century. There is no other appropriate time according to the Torah and other Judaic sources. That age will start in 2012. All Judaic scholars and sages know. It is also in the Zohar. A known fact.
