The following are excerpts from an interview with Iraqi politician Iyad Jamal Al-Din, which aired on LBC TV on July 31, 2005. (To view this clip, visit http://memritv.org/clip/en/793.htm.)
" Al-Din: First of all, no can accuse me, Iyad Jamal Al-Din, of sectarianism, because I support a secular regime, which will fully separate religion and state.
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"I believe my freedom as a Shi'ite and as a religious person will never be complete unless I preserve the freedom of the Sunni, the Christian, the Jew, the Sabai, or the Yazidi. We will not be able to preserve the freedom of the mosque unless we preserve the freedom of entertainment clubs.
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"The curricula both the modern ones in some Arab and Islamic countries, and the books of jurisprudence and heritage have many flaws that must be fixed once and for all.
Criticism of Muslim Treatment of Dhimmis
"There are the rulings about Ahl Al-Dhimma even if, Allah be praised, no current regime can enforce these rulings.
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"However, just for the sake of amusement and diversion, I recommend that the viewers read the books of jurisprudence and see how the Ahl Al-Dhimma are treated. I especially recommend this to people with a lust for Arab and Islamic history, who claim that our history is a source of pride, and that others were treated with kindness and love especially Christians and Jews. Among these rulings, a Dhimmi must wear a belt so that he is identifiable. Moreover, it is recommended that he be forced to the narrowest paths, and there are even jurisprudents who say that it is recommended to slap a Christian on the back of his neck so he feels humiliated and degraded. That is how we harass him and then invite him to join Islam. I can swear that the Prophet Muhammad is innocent of such inhuman jurisprudence. I challenge anyone among the people with a lust for history to talk candidly to the West, to the advocates of human rights, and tell them that our heritage has such evils and flaws. We are a nation of blackout and darkness. We cannot live in the light of day.
"We Must Discipline Ourselves Before the Americans and English Discipline Us. Must Maintain Human Rights, Which We Have Neglected for 1,300 or 1,400 Years, to this Day"
"We do not hold ourselves accountable. This is why America came to demand that the Arabs be accountable. Must have more self-confidence and be accountable before others hold us accountable. We must discipline ourselves before the Americans and English discipline us. We must maintain human rights, which we have neglected for 1,300 or 1,400 years, to this day until the arrival of the Americans, the Christians, the English, the Zionists, or the Crusaders. Call them what you will. They came to teach you, the followers of Muhammad, how to respect human rights.
"The Arab governments should support the Iraqi government, which was legally elected. I think this is the only government in our Arab region that was formed following free and fair elections. The Arabs must stop meddling in Iraq's affairs, and stop inciting to hatred, violence, and terrorism. They should not call these terrorist attacks 'resistance.' There isn't any kind of resistance in Iraq - these are terrorist acts under the guise of patriotism and of claims about defeating the occupation. They have nothing to do with the Americans or others. They are scum, remnants of the previous corrupt regime. They attracted all the Arab terrorists, this riffraff, which entered Iraq to kill according to ethnicity. They kill the Shi'ites in public. We have not heard a single Arab jurisprudent condemn the terrorist attacks that target Shi'ites.
There is No Resistance in Iraq… "They Kill Shi'ites Because of Their Identity and the Killers are the Dirtiest Type of Riffraff Among the Arabs"
"We are killed because of our identity. They kill Shi'ites because of their identity, and the killers are the dirtiest type of riffraff among the Arabs. Nevertheless, we have heard no condemnation of Al-Zarqawi or his followers. If we were English or Americans, you would see the court jurisprudents of the Arab regimes and all the Arab governments who stand behind them convene thousands of summits to condemn terrorism. But they remain quiet about what happens in Iraq. Moreover, we saw the president of a large Arab state say we call for national reconciliation as though there is a real problem among the Iraqi people. There is no problem. There is the tyrannical Saddam Hussein regime, which is the only real and legitimate heir to the Arab and Islamic civilization. This corrupt regime which has been toppled, and on whose ruins a democratic and modern Iraqi state will be established is not what the Arabs like.
"The Arabs Want Tyrannical Regimes, in Line with Their Backward Culture"
"The Arabs want tyrannical regimes, in line with their backward culture. If we were English or Americans, you would see how the Arabs raise an outcry over every casualty. Today, dozens of children and people queuing in front of bakeries are killed, and we hear no condemnation from any jurisprudent, quasi-jurisprudent, or government.
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"What is happening in Iraq is a real massacre and a real war between truth and falsehood, between a democratic government which relies on the public, and the remnants of the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Ottoman tyranny. Iraq will be a graveyard for them and for those behind them.
"The Terrified and Self-Defeated Arab States, Who Fear the Establishment of a Democratic Regime in Iraq, Would Prefer a … Dictator Like Saddam"
"The terrified and self-defeated Arab states, who fear the establishment of a democratic regime in Iraq, would prefer a stupid and reckless dictator like Saddam to a democratic regime in Iraq, because the epidemic of democracy and the winds of freedom will reach them, whether they like it or not.
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"Arab countries, especially those bordering with Iraq, can do a lot. We know that Saudi Arabia is also afflicted by terrorism. Many Arab countries are also afflicted by terrorism. But they are simultaneously victim and I was surprised when the crime in Sharm Al-Sheik occurred, those terrorist attacks. I followed the events on one of the Egyptian channels, and saw Egyptian intellectuals publicly justify terrorism, although the crime took place in their own country, and they were its victims. They said that this was the result of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the outcome of the situation in Iraq as if we have nothing to do with terrorism and the culture of hatred. We produce terrorism."
