Egyptian Cleric Ahmad Al-Naqib: ISIS Is Better than the Shiites

In video addresses posted on an Internet channel on April 29 and 30, Egyptian cleric Sheik Dr. Ahmad Al-Naqib criticized ISIS, but said: "there is no doubt that they are much better than the criminal Rafidites [i.e., Shiites], who kill the Sunnis because of their Sunni identity." Al-Naqib is a lecturer on education at Mansoura University.

Following are excerpts:

April 30, 2015

Dr. Ahmad Al-Naqib: I was asked: What is your opinion about ISIS and its conduct? Should one pledge allegiance to ISIS? Does refraining from this constitute a sin? This question is part of the catastrophe that has afflicted the lands of Islam. Much has been said about this. It has been said that ISIS was part of Jabhat Al-Nusra and Al-Qaeda, and then split away from them for various reasons. Some say that it maintains ties with the Syrian Baathist regime, while others claim that it is connected to the [remnants] of Saddam's Baathist regime. None of this concerns us. We want to consider the current situation.

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We must not say that this creation [ISIS], with its rulings and its conduct, is in keeping with the righty-guided Islamic state that we must obey, especially since much consideration is required to determine whether this "Islamic State" qualifies as a state. They experience ups and downs. Again and again, they conquer land, which is then taken from them. In addition, as far as their upbringing is concerned, most of them are non-Arabs. This is a very dangerous issue. There is much to be said about this. In any case, I am not convinced that this is a rightly-guided Islamic state, to which one must pledge allegiance, because it does not fulfill the requirement, but God knows best. There is no doubt, however, that they are much better than the criminal Rafidites [Shiites], who kill the Sunnis because of their Sunni identity, and who kill, rape, and burn the Muslims wherever they may be. They are better than the [Shiites], and their victories over the Rafidites are good for Islam, but God knows best.

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April 29, 2015

Despite their transgressions, injustice, wrongdoing, and aggression, they are better than the Rafidites. They are better than the criminal Rafidites, who kill Sunnis just because they are Sunnis. The people of the Islamic State kill the scholarly Sunni brothers, but at least they do not harm the simple people. On the contrary, the simple people live there in happiness, security, peace, and harmony. The Shiites, on the other hand, kill the Sunnis, scholarly or not.

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