Yasir Qadhi

Overview

Yasir Qadhi [Yasir Kazi] has a long history of espousing faith-based hatred of Jews and hatred of Israel. Qadhi promoted Holocaust denial and other forms of anti-Semitism as early as 2001, as detailed below. In 2008, Qadhi claimed his espousal of these views to be a "one-time mistake." However, in 2014, Qadhi likened Israel to Nazi Germany and, in 2008, he claimed that the views of a notorious Holocaust denier were unfairly stigmatized.

Qadhi is a supporter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). He is also a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. On February 4, 2015, he accused the Shalom Hartman Institute, which hosts the Muslim Leadership Initiative (MLI), of "clearly [having] an agenda that is antithetical to Islam." Qadhi opined that individuals could attend MLI, “provided they are not critical of the BDS movement.”

Also on February 4, 2015, Qadhi posted on Facebook additional opposition to MLI — which brings North American Muslims to Israel to "explore how Jews understand Judaism, Israel, and Jewish peoplehood." Qadhi called MLI a “blatantly Zionist Islamophobic propaganda group” — and claimed the ideology of Zionism is “racist.”

Qadhi is known for his critique of ISIS and other Islamist terror groups — and has blamed ISIS’ creation on the "destabilization and dismantling of Iraqi civil society that was caused by the American invasions and sanctions." In November of 2014, Qadhi suggested that America and Western governments were running ISIS.

An influential American Islamic cleric, Qadhi had a combined 1.24 million followers on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, as of February 5, 2017.

Qadhi is an assistant professor of Religious Studies at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee and the Resident Scholar of the Memphis Islamic Center. Qadhi is also the Dean of Academic Affairs at the Al Maghrib Institute in Houston, Texas.

Qadhi received his Ph.D from Yale University, in 2013. He holds a master’s degree in Islamic Theology and a bachelor’s degree in Hadith Studies from the University of Medina in Saudi Arabia. Qadhi graduated from Houston University, with a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, in 1995.

Anti-Jewish Rhetoric

In 2001, during a lecture on Islam, Qadhi claimed that Jews in the European diaspora, known as Ashkenazi Jews, are "Russians" and “Khazars, not Jews” (5:52). He said: “Look at them! White, crooked nose, blonde hairs. This is not the descendent of Yakub [Jacob]. These are not a Semitic people. Look at them!...When I read it for the first time, I couldn’t believe it either, this is just too good to be true, as they say.”

Qadhi went on to say: "You meet any Jew and ask him — are you Sephardic [Jews from the Middle Eastern diaspora] or Ashkenazi? Look at the embarrassment on his face. He will know exactly what you’re talking about" (6:19).

Qadhi then claimed there was a conspiracy among Jews to keep the alleged Khazar ancestry private.

In the same talk, Qadhi alleged that Jews were sowing "division" and “discord” among Muslims, saying: “How many Muslims know about this? You go to America, you find 95% of the Islamic Studies professors are Jews...Why are Jews studying Islam? There is a reason. Not that they want to help us, they want to destroy us. And they want to bring about shubuhat, they want to bring about doubts. Look at the doubts that are existing, look at the division, look at the discord, look at the disunity, look at all these ideologies that are being spread and know that Yahood [Jews] and the Kuffar [non-believer] do like this type of thing.”

During the same lecture, Qadhi also said: "Hitler never intended to mass-destroy the Jews. There are a number of books out written by Christians on this, you should read them. The Hoax of the Holocaust, I advise you to read this book, you may want to write this down, the Hoax of the Holocaust, a very good book. All of this is false propaganda and I know it sounds so far-fetched, and these theories, but read it. The evidences are very strong. And they’re talking about newspaper articles, clippings, everything and look up yourself what Hitler really wanted to do. We’re not defending Hitler, by the way, but what the Jews, the way that they portray him, also is not correct."

In a November 10, 2008 interview, given after a recording of the 2001 lecture surfaced, Qadhi referred to his own remarks as "a passing comment made so many years ago," which termed a “one-time mistake.” Qadhi explained that he had “digressed to a topic that [he] had not actually intended to talk about and made some serious historical blunders.”

In the interview, Qadhi noted that much of the information he used for his discourse came from the Holocaust denial site Institute for Historical Review (IHR). Qadhi claimed also that it "was a pre-Google and Wikipedia era" so he could not “have verified the real agenda of this group.” However, by 2001, and search engines — including Google and Yahoo!, among others— were common by the time Qadhi delivered his 2001 lecture. The internet had long been publicly available. IHR’s website was available as early as December 1998. In 1998, IHR already featured various entries like “The US Holocaust Memorial Museum — A Costly and Dangerous Mistake” and “The 'Problem of the Gas Chambers,'” by Robert Faurisson.

Promoting Faith-Based Animosity

In December of 2012, Qadhi delivered a series of lectures on YouTube’s Islam Channel UK rationalizing historical incidences of Muslim violence against Jews and others — including the Battle of Khaybar — where Muhammad and his followers massacred the Jews and enslaved the surviving women as "wives." In one lecture, Qadhi insisted that the massacre was justified because of things the Jews “had done” — and insinuated that those who view the massacre negatively do so because they are “biased.”

Qadhi went on to distort the historical record and claim, categorically, that anti-Semitism "is unknown in Islamic history," noting Jews were lumped together with Christians and Sabians, rather than targeted exclusively.

The chant "Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud" (Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning) remains popular among anti-Israel militants. The chant has been a feature at anti-Semitic rallies throughout the Middle East — and is often chanted at anti-Israel rallies in the U.S.

In another lecture, Qadhi related tales alleging that a Jewish prankster embarrassed a Muslim woman and that treacherous Jews — "ethnically and culturally different from the local population" — schemed to assassinate Muhammad.

Excusing Holocaust-Denier David Irving

On December 4, 2008, as detailed below, Qadhi misrepresented the nature of Holocaust-Denier David Irving’s claims. Irving called the mass murders of Jews in the death factories of Auschwitz, Majdanek and Treblinka a "myth," has insisted that no gas chambers ever existed at Auschwitz and has also blamed the Jews for their own persecution.

However, Qadhi implied that Irving was unfairly condemned, claiming Irving’s infamy was based on writing books "saying that this figure of six million is too many. It wasn’t six. It was lesser than that." Qadhi proposed that Irving “wasn’t denying the Holocaust. What he was doing was questioning the history of the Holocaust.”

Qadhi went on to claim that "laws were passed against [Irving]" and against even questioning the magnitude of the Holocaust. Qadhi then alleged that Irving was jailed in Austria for a year because “the Jews [of 13 European countries] took David Irving to court, even though he wasn’t living [in Austria] and the court [sic.] all ruled with the Jews of those countries.” In reality, the Austrian government arrested Irving pursuant to its 1947 law banning Holocaust denial.

Qadhi also claimed, falsely, that "nobody, not one single person, stood up and said you know what? He’s a historian, he should have the right to write his books and papers."

Likening Israel to Nazi Germany

On August 19, 2014, Qadhi said on Facebook: "Israel is following some of the very same tactics that Nazi Germany did, in dehumanizing Palestinians."

In an August 2, 2014, Facebook post, Qadhi specifically likened Israel supporters — and Israelis — to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels.

Qadh said: "Listening to Israeli politicians, or Fox News, or any pro-Israeli outlet, one sees precisely the same tactics employed by Joseph Goebbels, who was Hitler's right-hand-man in spreading anti-Jewish propaganda amongst the Germans.

First, Qadhi recalled how "the Nazis successfully dehumanized the Jews of Germany so that they could then persecute them with impunity," then stated: “It will only be a matter of a few decades, if not sooner, when history books will mention how Israelis attempted to dehumanize all Palestinians…”

In the same Facebook post, Qadhi cast Hamas terrorists in the role of Jews during the Holocaust. First, Qadhi implicitly denied Hamas’ long-standing explicit endorsement of the "human shield” strategy and attacked those who called out the practice as "claiming ... that the evil, demonic 'Hamas' actually wanted to kill its own citizens so that people would sympathize with them.”

Qadhi’s posts came during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE), which it commenced to stop rocket attacks from Gaza targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.

On August 2, 2014, Qadhi said, on Facebook: "Truly amazing that a nation that claimed 'Never Again!!' is willing to itself do it again." The phrase “Never Again” is a reference to the attempted Nazi genocide of the Jewish People.

On July 31, 2014, Qadhi said of Israel: "But I have no doubt that the end for terrorism and modern fascist nazism is near. Allah is wanting to show us the depravity and inhumanity of these terrorists before dealing with them."

Promoting Religious Incitement Against Israel

On November 15, 2012, Qadhi — during Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense against Hamas — wrote on Facebook: "For how long will Palestine continue to bleed, they ask? We say: for as long as the Muslim world has blood flowing in its veins and a heart that is alive. Do as you please, but know that we shall prevail. Our Lord is our protector - you have none."

On October 13, 2015, Qadhi said: "Israeli Zionism is showing its true brutal, inhumane nature, and no amount of lobbying and distortion can delay the inevitable Justice of Allah."

Qadhi’s statement came during an upsurge in violence across Israel incited by Palestinian political and religious leaders. These leaders spread the libel that Jews "threaten" to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount — which has long been a traditional pretext for Arab attacks against Jews. The libel helped propel the wave of stabbings in fall 2015 known as the “Knife Intifada,” which saw young Palestinians across Israel stabbing and attempting to stab scores of Israeli civilians.

"Israel Lobby" Conspiracy Theories

On February 9, 2013, Qadhi tweeted an article decrying the influence of the "Israel Lobby," written by Professor Stephen Walt. The article made reference to a discredited academic paper — and later book — that Walt co-authored called “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,” which criticized Israeli and Jewish influence in U.S. foreign policy.

On July 23, 2014, Qadhi retweeted a tweet which said: "#AIPAC Is the Only Explanation for America's Morally Bankrupt #Israel Policy." The tweet linked to an article by Walt decrying the influence of the “Israel lobby” and accusing Israel of a “one-sided bloodletting” during Operation Protective Edge in 2014 against Hamas.

The article condemned U.S. support of Israel and claimed: "This Orwellian situation is eloquent testimony to the continued political clout of AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) and the other hardline elements of the Israel lobby. There is no other plausible explanation for the supine behavior of the U.S. Congress."

Demonizing Israel

On Facebook, on September 16, 2016, Qadhi called Israel the "only remaining Apartheid country in the world." Qadhi then pointed to “anger and hatred generated, and the inevitable 'blowback'” purportedly caused by U.S. support of Israel. Qadhi’s post then insinuated that U.S. foreign military aid to Israel was causally connected to domestic problems, like schools “faltering across the country,” “undrinkable water in Flint, MI,” “the lack of free healthcare for American citizens,” and “homeless and hungry people in each and every city and town” in America.

On February 25, 2016, Qadhi tweeted: "#ZionismIsApartheid."

On August 14, 2014, Qadhi tweeted a tweet with the hashtag "#ICC4Israel," which demands Israel be brought before the International Criminal Court. Qadhi’s tweet came during Operation Protective Edge in 2014 against Hamas.

On August 11, 2014, Qadhi shared a statement from anti-Israel professor Norman Finkelstein, who claimed "Israel has no right to defend itself in a country it illegally occupies." Qadhi added: “Can it get more succinct than this?! Bravo Dr Norman Finkelstein!”

On November 24, 2012, Qadhi tweeted a video of anti-Israel propagandist Miko Peled, who justified a Palestinian who stabbed to death two Israeli soldiers guarding a bank in Ramallah. The video also suggested that the Israeli army was a "terrorist" (38:36) entity and further accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing.”

Pushing Propaganda

On December 13, 2012, Qadhi tweeted: "When average Americans ask me more information about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, I always refer them to…" with a link to If Americans Knew, a notorious anti-Israel hate site. Alison Weir, the site’s founder and executive director, has spread conspiracy theories that Israel harvests organs.

In a 2012 primer, titled "The Top Ten Anti-Israel Groups in America," The Anti Defamation League (ADL) exposed (p.5-6) Weir’s propagation of numerous anti-Semitic and anti-Israel conspiracy theories including her multiple claims of organ harvesting by Jews. Weir was also condemned in 2015 by the anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) — for being “a repeat guest of white supremacist Clay Douglas on his hate radio show, the Free American” during 2010 and 2011.

Defending Islamic Militants

On October 23, 2016, Qadhi defended convicted American-born Taliban member John Walker Lindh, saying that by fighting for the terror group, all he was "primarily guilty of is youthful naïveté, not treason, and that he should be released." Qadhi then went on to liken Lindh to American politician Rahm Emanuel — who volunteered for two weeks to help repair Israel Defense Forces (IDF) trucks during the 1991 Gulf War.

On July 14, 2014, Qadhi tweeted a petition supporting female Al-Qaeda operative Aafia Siddiqui, who was convicted of 86 years in jail for the attempted murder of a U.S. Army officer.

On October 9, 2008, Qadhi praised militant Ali al-Timimi, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for encouraging Muslim youth to fight for the Taliban and fight against the U.S. and India. Qadhi said of al-Timimi: "he played an instrumental role in shaping and directing me to take the path that has led me to where I am today...he was the first teacher who taught me the realities and intricacies of tawhid [God’s oneness] and aqidah [creed], which, to this day, remains my primary focus and speciality."

Suggesting America and Israel Inspire Islamic State (ISIS)

On November 17, 2014, Qadhi suggested on Facebook that the United States and other Western governments were behind the rise of ISIS.

Qadhi stated: "I am becoming more open to the idea that the people running the show amongst ISIS are not Muslims at all, but rather those who wish to portray Islam in the worst possible light. One simple fact: before ISIS's brutal beheadings, the American population was so weary of war that they did NOT want to send troops or get involved in the Syrian crisis. Now, after ISIS has beheaded so many Western citizens, public opinion has changed and it appears war is imminent. Coincidence? Or convenience? Allah knows best."

In a February 25, 2015 Facebook post, condemning ISIS, Qadhi stated that "they take lessons from Israel and America" and “[i]t is interesting that in their hatred of Israeli and American policy, they have began to mimic and at times even exceed the barbarity of those whom they oppose.”

BDS

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by Omar Barghouti in 2005 to challenge “international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism.” BDS is an allegedly “Palestinian-led movement,” although leading BDS activists have admitted [00:01:01] this is not true. 

One of the demands of BDS includes [point 3] what is generally known as the “right of return,” a demand discredited as a way to eliminate Israel. Barghouti said the “right of return” is a means to “end Israel’s existence as a Jewish state.”  

Barghouti has said that BDS “aims to turn Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.”

In his activism, Barghouti has also said [00:05:55] regarding Israel: “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No…rational Palestinian, not a sellout Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”

The movement has been linked to numerous terrorist organizations and received a public endorsement from Hamas in 2017.

BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.

The movement’s most notable achievement has been the infiltration of university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments and student groups, backed by their own anti-Israel members and affiliates, have proposed resolutions on some form of boycott of, or divestment from, Israel and Israeli-affiliated entities.

Boycott resolutions, although non-binding, have been passed by student governments on numerous North American campuses.

BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents on campus. On one campus, when the student government debated a BDS resolution, reports emerged of violent threats against those opposing it.

Social Media and Weblinks

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/19667888299

Twitter:https://twitter.com/YasirQadhi

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasir.qadhi/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yasir-qadhi-6589895b/

Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/yasirqadhi

Wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AbuAmmaarYasir_Qadhi