The following are excerpts from an interview with Syrian Deputy Minister of Religious Endowment Dr. Muhammad 'Abd Al-Sattar, which aired on Syrian TV on July 21, 2006. It is followed by an appearance on Syrian TV from November in which he again calls Jews "the descendents of apes and pigs," as well as another interview from last August during which he calls for the stoning of AIDS patients.
Syrian TV, July 21, 2006
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Muhammad 'Abd Al-Sattar: "Jihad is now incumbent upon each and every Muslim, Arab, and Christian. The time has come for the duty of Jihad."
[...]
"Who occupied the Al-Aqsa Mosque? Who attacked the prophets? Who killed the prophets? Even the Koran depicts the people of Israel in a very sinister and dark way. Allah did not curse any people, not even the polytheists, not even the idol worshippers. The Koran did not curse any of these. The only ones who were cursed are those murderous criminals."
[...]
"The Koran used terms that are closer to animals than to humans only with regard to those people. Look at the bestiality they demonstrate in the destruction of the Arab, Lebanese, and Palestinian people. This is why the people who were given the Torah were likened to a donkey carrying books. They were also likened to apes and pigs, and they are, indeed, the descendants of apes and pigs, as the Koran teaches us."
Syrian TV, November 8, 2005
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Muhammad 'Abd Al-Sattar: "Syria now represents the opposition to the Greater Middle East plan. We've discussed this in the past. Syria represents the opposition, the last line of defense. All the forces of the Arab and Islamic nations everywhere must be mobilized to defend this last line of defense. The last line of defense is what guarantees that the values of this nation will endure."
[...]
"We must know that opposing the Zionist plots, which aim to put on the throne of the Middle East the descendants of... those whom the Koran called the descendents of apes and pigs, who raise... They are the ones who will sit on the throne of the Greater Middle East. There is no doubt about this. The Koran said this, not me."
Interviewer: "Yes."
'Abd Al-Sattar: "No one can say... This is a Koranic text. We don't want an American Koran or Islam. Islam is Islam, and the Koran is the Koran. One cannot change even a single letter in it."
Syrian TV, August 30, 2005
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Muhammad 'Abd Al-Sattar: "All the diseases that have to do with sexual organs, mainly AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhea, and so on... When these diseases appeared, they killed millions. More people were killed by these diseases than by wars. The only reason for this is the straying from the divine way regarding fornication, and when I say fornication - 'Do not even approach abomination' - this means fornication, homosexuality, and all the sexual deviation it entails."
Host: "Everything that has to do with abominations."
'Abd Al-Sattar: "'Do not even approach abomination, surely it is a foul thing and an evil way.' When Islam set the punishment [for fornication]... Let's see now... What do they do now with people with AIDS? They put the AIDS patient in isolation. This patient... If you go to the dentist, you are afraid of the toothbrush.
"This is why there's a hidden desire in one's heart... If only we had stoned everyone who had committed this abomination - wouldn't it have been better than letting these diseases infect others, spreading to millions around the world?"
Host: "Most certainly."
'Abd Al-Sattar: "Most certainly. The entire world, from the U.S. to the most distant country, acknowledges that if they had stoned the fornicators, and prevented abomination, things would have been much better."
