Remarks at Ceremony in Honor of Special Representative to Muslim Communities Shaarik Zafar
Well, Shaun, thank you very much for a warm and generous introduction. Good morning to everybody.Assalamu alaikum. Honored to be here with you this morning, and thank you so much for coming to join us on this really, frankly, exciting occasion. It’s my opportunity to be able to welcome and announce at the same time our new Special Representative for Muslim Communities, Shaarik Zafar. And – yes. applause. (Applause.) And I’m especially happy to welcome his parents – his mother, Kausar, and his father, Humayon – thank you – and his wife, Aiysha, with their lovely two children, their daughters, Sophia and Aliza. Thank you. Ladies, thank you for being here. (Applause.)
When Shaarik started drafting the U.S. Strategy on Religious Leader and Faith Community Engagement, he began with two words: “Religion matters.” We’re making that a mantra here at the State Department in our foreign policy, and I see it every single day. And I particularly see it in my multiple engagements in the Far East and South Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Sub-Sahara Africa.
[Excuse me! Religion should play no part in the prosecution of foreign affairs involving the safety and security of the United States and its allies. Especially when religion curtails or redefines human rights such as the freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Freedom that does not see the genital mutilation of women or their subjugation as chattel – to be beaten with legal impunity if they do not please a man. To be executed for being raped.]
Let me be really clear as a starting point for today’s conversation: The real face of Islam is not what we saw yesterday, when the world bore witness again to the unfathomable brutality of ISIL terrorist murderers, when we saw Steven Sotloff, an American journalist who left home in Florida in order to tell the story of brave people in the Middle East – we saw him brutally taken from us in an act of medieval savagery by a coward hiding behind a mask.
[Excuse me! What we saw is the undiluted version of 6th Century version of Islam as well as the actions of those who want to use terror to bring about their own religious and political (remember they are one in the same in Islam) agenda. This act was religiously sanctioned in as much the lives of apostates and infidels have no value.]
For so many who worked so long to bring Steven and other Americans home safely, this obviously was not how the story was meant to end. It’s a punch to the gut. And the United States Government, I want you to know, has used every single military, diplomatic, and intelligence tool that we have, and we always will. Our special operations forces bravely risked a military operation in order to save these lives, and we have reached out diplomatically to everyone and anyone who might be able to help. That effort continues, and our prayers remain as they always are, with the families of all of the hostages who remain trapped in Syria today.
[From media reports, the White House dithered and delayed authorizing the special forces raid – and approximately 30-days later, the hostages were no longer located at the original location specified in the original intelligence reports. Like Valerie Jarrett influencing the delay of the bin Laden raid at least three times based on political considerations, the Obama effort was a day late and a dollar short. Pretty much the standard operating procedure for a President who leads from behind.
[As for using every means we have, that is not true. The father of ISIS leader Ibrahim ibn Awwad ibn Ibrahim ibn Ali ibn Muhammad al-Badri al-Samarrai AKA Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (one who does things in Baghdad) is in U.S. custody. We could have threatened to transfer him to Gitmo, have him beheaded, and the video posted to the Muslim world – thus turning the release of the hostages in to a matter of honor. Should he have beheaded the American hostages, he would have caused the death of his father – a shameful act meaning more to Muslims than Westerners. Hence, the operative idea is “When in Rome, do as the Romans do!”]
Now barbarity, sadly, is not new to our world. Neither is evil. And I can’t think of a more graphic description of evil than what we witnessed yesterday and before that with James Foley and what we see in the unbelievably brutal mass executions of people because of their sectarian or religious affiliation. We have taken the fight to this kind of savagery and evil before, and believe me, we will take it again. We’re doing it today, and when terrorists anywhere around the world have murdered our citizens, the United States held them accountable, no matter how long it took. And those who have murdered James Foley and Steven Sotloff in Syria need to know that the United States will hold them accountable too, no matter how long it takes.
[Here is a man, in reality a useful idiot, that is confronted with absolute evidence of evil, barbarity, and genocide – and he is apparently convinced that diplomacy can blunt the edge of the executioner’s sword and render it harmless.
As for bringing terrorists to justice, the Obama Administration appears to regard these people as common murders, to be brought before a federal judge, given the legal rights of American citizens, and tried as if they were from the inner cities. So much for the concept of war and the execution of enemy combatants. If one wants to see Kerry’s idea of “American accountability” play out, they need look no farther than the botched investigation of the terrorists who attacked our compound in Libya on the anniversary of 9/11. One man in custody after being free for at least two years and giving interviews to the major media. Someone should ask Kerry about that compound and why the Department of State was apparently gun-running military arms to Islamic terrorists through Turkey on the theory that some Islamic terrorists are better than others.]
I want to emphasize – (applause) – but here today, what is really important – and I want to take advantage of this podium and of this moment to underscore as powerfully as I know how that the face of Islam is not the butchers who killed Steven Sotloff. That’s ISIL. (Applause.) The face of Islam is not the nihilists who know only how to destroy, not to build. It’s not masked cowards whose actions are an ugly insult to the peaceful religion that they violate every single day with their barbarity and whose fundamental principles they insult with their actions.
[Unfortunately, ISIL is the face of Islam in its strictest interpretation – much in the same manner that Saudi Arabian Whabbism is the very same strict interpretation. Perhaps Kerry should demand the declassification of the redacted portion of the 9/11 report that deals with foreign involvement – reportedly the Saudis. Or check what the Saudis are actually doing when they finance Mosques around the world and allow the installation of radical Imams to provide religious guidance to the Muslim community. Islam is not – and has never been – a peaceful religion. And, no matter how many times you repeat this big lie, one needs only to look at the hotspots around the world to see that Islamic fundamentalism is behind most of the strife. Barbarity is built-in to the religion and is a fact of life in Muslim countries.]
The real face of Islam is a peaceful religion based on the dignity of all human beings. It’s one where Muslim communities are leading the fight against poverty. It’s one where Muslim communities are providing basic healthcare and emergency assistance on the front lines of some of our most devastating humanitarian crises. And it is one where Muslim communities are advocating for universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the most basic freedom to practice one’s faith openly and freely. America’s faith communities, including American Muslims, are sources of strength for all of us. They’re an essential part of our national fabric, and we are committed to deepening our partnerships with them.
[Is not John Kerry clinically insane or a stone-faced liar if he really believes Islam is a religion of peace? A religion based on the dignity of all human beings?
Or is he playing the socialist re-definition game that says because the Muslims don’t believe that apostates and infidels are human beings, everything makes sense in their limited and narrow interpretation?
Universal human rights – yeah, like in Saudi Arabia where the religious police roam the neighborhoods looking for grievances against Allah? Where a woman speaking to a man that is not a relative can be beaten almost to death?
To speak of Muslims and human rights is to make a mockery of the truth. The same truth that sees human rights violators as the head of the United Nations’ Human Rights Commission. Ah, the wonderful delusional world of moral equivalency, situational ethics, and diplomatic dissembling.
As for contributions to our national fabric – what might those be?]
We’re making these efforts to unite religious communities a core mission here at the State Department. That’s what Shaarik is leading as our Special Representative to Muslim Communities. That’s what Ira Forman is leading as our Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. And that’s what David Saperstein is leading; when confirmed, he will be our new Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. And that’s what my friend Shaun Casey is doing in his special job in order to have a faith – interfaith office here at the State Department itself.
[Does Kerry mean anti-Jew or anti-Arab oppression because anti-Semitism covers both because both are Semitic peoples? Because, I have always thought that the anti-Jewish sentiment was endemic among WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) Northeastern liberals who attended Ivy League universities. Why the State Department should be concerned with faith rather than the safety and security of the United States and the promotion of our national interests is beyond me.]
Now people ask me why. Why now have we made this such a mission at the State Department? Why elevate our engagement at a time when world events to some people seem so hopelessly divided along sectarian lines? And the answer is really very simple: It’s a delusion to think that anyone can just retreat to their own safe space, not when people of all faiths are migrating and mingling as never before in history. The reality is that our faiths and our fates are inextricably linked. And that is profoundly why we must do this now, because they are linked.
[Kerry is delusional if he believes that there are any safe spaces existing or can be created as long as humanity and civilization are confronted with Muslims who believe in the literal interpretation of the Qur’an and have the means to pursue Jihad as it is commanded by Allah.]
Our fates are inextricably linked on any number of things that we must confront and deal with in policy concepts today. Our fates are inextricably linked on the environment. For many of us, respect for God’s creation also translates into a duty to protect and sustain His first creation: Earth, the planet. Before God created man, He created Heavens and Earth. Confronting climate change is, in the long run, one of the greatest challenges that we face, and you can see this duty or responsibility laid down in scriptures, clearly, beginning in Genesis. And Muslim-majority countries are among the most vulnerable. Our response to this challenge ought to be rooted in a sense of stewardship of Earth. And for me and for many of us here today, that responsibility comes from God.
[What? Kerry no believes it is our joint duties to promote the socialist invention of global climate change and manage the environmental impacts of weather when facing an existential threat from radical Islam? Talk about misdirection and diversion … it is akin to President Obama telling NASA’s director that one of their highest priorities should be Muslim outreach to make them feel good about their historical accomplishments in mathematics and science.]
Our fates are also inextricably linked in promoting economic opportunity and justice. When you look at the world today, there are whole countries where there are 60 percent of the population under the age of 30, 50 percent under the age of 21, and 40 percent under the age of 18. We know that all of these young people in today’s interconnected globalized world, with the media that’s available to them – just look at the numbers in sub-Sahara Africa of young people walking around with smart phones. They don’t have a job, they don’t have an education, but they’re connected. And we know that all of them are as a result demanding opportunity and dignity.
[In the face of being slaughtered by fundamentalist Muslims, I doubt that many are demanding opportunity and dignity as they fight for their very existence. What the hell is Kerry saying or has he lost it completely?]
We also know that a cadre of extremists – nihilists, people like ISIL – are just waiting to seduce these people into accepting the dead end. And when people don’t have a job, when they can’t get an education, when their voices are silenced by draconian laws or by violence or oppression, we’ve all witnessed the instability that follows from that, from the lack of dignity and respect for the human person. To meet the demands of these populations for dignity and opportunity, frankly, requires new and creative partnerships. That’s why Shaun is here. That’s why we’re here today. We need to reach beyond government to include religious leaders and faith communities, entrepreneurs, civil society groups, all of them working together to invest in a future that embraces tolerance and understanding, and yes, even love.
[Is Kerry bat-shit insane? The members of the Iraqi army were gainfully employed and had a lofty purpose to protect their government and a budding democracy – yet, when faced with the threat of ISIL, they threw down their weapons and joined the jihadis. Or, is he speaking about Americans – the ones in the inner cities and in our prisons becoming willing converts to Islam? The message is unclear and muddled in the best manner of diplomacy – sounding good, but meaning little or nothing.
An Islamic future that embraces tolerance and understanding, and yes, even love, is not in the cards. Read the Qur’an – there is no tolerance for anything that does not promote Allah and his Caliphate.]
Our fates are also inextricably linked in the fight for pluralism. We know beyond any doubt that the places where people are free not just to develop an idea, but to debate different ideas, those societies are the most successful – not occasionally, but always. It’s not just a lack of jobs and opportunity that give extremists the opening that their recruitment strategies need to exploit. They’re just as content to see corruption and oligarchy and resource exploitation fill the vacuum so they can come in then and prey on the frustration and anger of those young people who were denied real opportunity.
[Yada, Yada, Yada – the Jihadists do not debate, they dictate. There are no different ideas other than how to expand the word and world of Allah.]
Make no mistake: When you go back and study the major faith traditions, there is one thing that really does leap out at you. I was privileged a number of years ago to speak at an interfaith event at Yale University between a group of – a significant group – some 70 or so evangelicals from across the country, including Dr. Robert Schuller and others, and then a group of mullahs, imams, grand muftis, who had come from around the world to join together in this discussion of interfaith initiative. And I remember then, as I sort of thought about my comments and what to talk about, how it leapt out at me that there is a commonality in the Abrahamic faiths particularly, but in all faiths and in all philosophies of way of life and thinking, even Native Americanism or Confucianism and others, and that is every single one of them contains a fundamental basic notion of the Golden Rule – the importance of charity, compassion, and human improvement.
[Is he kidding? He mentions Dr. Robert Schuller, a “feel-good/do-good” evangelical preacher who preached from a drive-in movie theatre until he built a wealthy mega-church that was rendered bankrupt by his avaricious children and whose signature building, the Chrystal Cathedral in nearby Orange County, California, is now owned by the Catholic Church.
According to the pragmatists, the only golden rule the Jihadis follow is: He who has the gold (or the strength and weapons) makes the rules. Imagine if Hamas actually believed in the Golden Rule, amended their charter to acknowledge the right of existence of Israel, and wanted to live in peace? Beyond belief at this point in time because the Qur’an says this will never happen.
The Quran contains at least 109 verses that call Muslims to war with nonbelievers for the sake of Islamic rule. Qur’an (8:39) - "And fight with them until there is no more fitna (disorder, unbelief) and religion should be only for Allah" ]
When Jesus was asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law,” he replied: the first “you shall love the Lord your God” and second “you shall love your neighbor as yourself…In everything, do unto others what you would have them do to you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
[Yes, from what I can see that’s is what is being practiced in every one of the hotspots around the world that involves Muslim? Is he effin’ kidding me?]
What prophets was Jesus talking about? He was talking about Moses, or Moshe, or Musa. He was talking about Abraham, or Avraham, or Ibrahim. And ultimately, he was talking about Shalom, Salam: Peace.
As the Talmud says: In Roman times, a nonbeliever approached the famous rabbi, Rabbi Hillel, and challenged him to teach the meaning of the Torah while standing on one leg. Without missing a beat, holding up one foot, Hillel replied: “What is hateful to yourself, do not do to another. That is the whole of the Torah… the rest is commentary.”
The Prophet Muhammad said of loving your brother, “Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself.”
Buddhist scriptures teach us to “treat not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.” And Hinduism proclaims, “This is the sum of duty: Do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you.” Our faiths teach us that we are more than the sum of our differences. We share a moral obligation to treat one another with dignity and respect. And I am so proud that at the foundation of everything that this Department and that our foreign policy tries to do are those fundamental values.
Today, we need to draw on that common faith and what must be our common hope to work for peace and put our universal commitments and universal beliefs into action. That’s the road ahead, and I am privileged to share that road with Shaarik and with all of you. Thank you. (Applause.)
[Like Barack Obama, Kerry obviously believes his words substitute for actions and that you can reason with the unreasonable without striking a deal with the devil.]
