Genocide Hadith Revisited Again

Censorship and Libel at USC

David Horowitz has once again raised the issue of the infamous genocide hadith which was restored to the USC 's database after he had campaigned for its removal. I have added emphasis for the sake of clarity. [An edited transcript of Horowitz's Nov. 4 speech is available, plus a video and a report of the attempts to prevent him from speaking. The speech is a very articulate appeal for free speech on campus, an extremely important issue.]

I was invited to USC to speak about this problem and specifically about an incitement to kill Jews posted on an official USC website and attributed to the prophet Mohammed. The incitement was originally posted by the USC Muslim Student Union. It was removed last spring by Provost Nicias, who called it “disgusting,” over protests from the Muslim Student Union. It was recently restored to a USC website by another campus group. When this re-posting came to my attention, I contacted USC students and said I would like to come to campus to address this and related issues. This led to my invitation from College Republicans.

What incitement?

Sahih Muslim Book 041, Number 6985:
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.

That saying is part of Islam's canon of codified oral tradition, a prophecy which sets the final genocide of the Jews as a precondition for the Muslims reaping their rewards in Paradise. It is not the cry of "Itbach-al-Yahud" often heard in Islamic sermons, it is part of the basis for those sermons. Variant forms of that saying are common in Islamic literature, including the Charter of Hamas.

A variant remained in the database: Sahih Bukhari 4.52.177. Whether they are published on a university web site or not, those sayings inform us of the genocidal character of Islam. They serve to warn us of Islam's intentions. Removing them is like amputating a snake's rattles or painting a skunk's stripes, depriving us of a warning.

My principle objection to censoring the hadith is that it deprives us of a means of authenticating the evidence of Islam's genocidal character. I frequently cite that hadith, including a link to it so that readers can verify its authenticity and explore related hadith. While such sayings re removed from the web, they remain in thousands of books and articles and in the minds of millions of Muslims. Nothing is accomplished by removing one saying from one web site.

The revival of this issue can serve a purpose by affording another opportunity to reveal the evil at the core of Islam. The Qur'an includes a demonic injunction to make war upon Jews, Christians & Zoroastrians.

9:29 Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allâh, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allâh and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islâm) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

Now you know that Muslims are commanded to make war on Jews and that the Muslims can't enter Paradise until they finish the job. While there is plenty of antisemitism in the Qur'an, one ayeh stands out above the rest.

7:167. And (remember) when your Lord declared that He would certainly keep on sending against them (i.e. the Jews), till the Day of Resurrection, those who would afflict them with a humiliating torment. Verily, your Lord is Quick in Retribution (for the disobedient, wicked) and certainly He is Oft­Forgiving, Most Merciful (for the obedient and those who beg Allâh's Forgiveness).

Ibn Kathir's tafsir of that ayeh brings a new dimension to it.

...In the future, the Jews will support the Dajjal (False Messiah); and the Muslims, along with `Isa, son of Mary, will kill the Jews. This will occur just before the end of this world....

Another prophesy contains a less explicit confirmation. Read between the lines.

Sunan Abu Dawud Book 37, Number 4310:

Narrated AbuHurayrah:

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: There is no prophet between me and him, that is, Jesus (peace_be_upon_him). He will descent (to the earth). When you see him, recognise him: a man of medium height, reddish fair, wearing two light yellow garments, looking as if drops were falling down from his head though it will not be wet. He will fight the people for the cause of Islam. He will break the cross, kill swine, and abolish jizyah. Allah will perish all religions except Islam. He will destroy the Antichrist and will live on the earth for forty years and then he will die. The Muslims will pray over him.

When President Obama and others assert that Islam is a "great religion of peace", those of us who have explored its canon of scripture, exegeses, tradition & jurisprudence can use quotes from those sources to refute the lie. Instead of demanding censorship, we should be exposing the core of Islamic doctrine in the harsh light of truth. Expose Islam's violent antisemitism, don't obscure it.