Was published in Arabic in September 19, 2015

Translated by Ahmed Fathy

He said to me: Islam prohibits driving away peaceful people out of their homes and countries, right?

I said to him: Whoever commits that crime is an unbeliever due to this criminal demeanor. The crime exceeds in enormity if the perpetrator attribute such heinous crime to Islam. Among the traits of aggressive unbelievers is driving people away from their homes by force, violence, and threat of being killed. Aggressive unbelievers used to do just that with Prophet Muhammad and his weak followers in Mecca. The tribe of Qorayish forced them to immigrate twice to Abyssinia to be welcome guests of its Christian monarch. The third immigration was to the city of Yathreb, where aggressive unbelievers raided and attacked them in their time of weakness. The Quran allows fighting ONLY for self-defense: "Permission is given to those who are fought against, and God is Able to give them victory.Those who were unjustly evicted from their homes, merely for saying, "Our Lord is God." Were it not that God repels people by means of others: monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques-where the name of God is mentioned much-would have been demolished. God supports whoever supports Him. God is Strong and Mighty."(22:39-40).

He said: Do you mean to tell me that Wahabis are unbelievers?

I said: They commit the same crimes of unbelievers mentioned in the Quran. We have not the names in the Quranic text; only descriptions of evil deeds to be avoided so as not to deserve the epithet of ''unbeliever''. Hence, we easily judge these heinous crimes that all people of the world watch as eye-witnesses. Killing the innocent in the name of God and Islam is unbelief. The same applied to driving people by force away from their homes due to religious or doctrinal intolerance. The same applies to religious persecution and applying creeds and notions by force on others. This unbelief in demeanor indicates unbelief in hearts and minds. Yet, we cannot judge people by what is in their hearts and minds. We care only to stop criminal acts, like killing, raiding, stealing, robbing, and destroying of others' possessions…etc. especially the crimes committed in the name of Islam. They call their crimes ''jihad''. This is the worst type of unbelief as it tarnishes the image of God's religion and does grave injustice to the innocent.

He said: But there are Wahabis who never do that among the MB and Salafis, right?

I said: No. Salafis and the terrorist MB members are hypocrite and they show more of their terrorist acts and thought once they reach power in any country.

He said: What is your evidence to prove this?

I said: In 2000, Salafis in Egypt instigated the Egyptian authorities to imprison Egyptian Quranists just because they pray at home. They arrested our relatives in our village in 1999 to prevent us from praying at home in the village. They drove us away from our village home to which we used to travel on a monthly basis to pray Friday noon prayers at home with our family. This has been done during the era of Mubarak, who used to persecute Quranists to please his allies, the KSA royal family and the Salafis in Egypt. After his ouster in 2011, the Salafis/Wahabis gained more influence in Egypt; they declared that whoever dares to refuse their sharia can immigrate and leave Egypt. A Salafi journalist instigated villagers to drive away Egyptian Baha'is from their homes.  If Salafis rule Egypt – Heaven forbid it – they would drive away all their opponents. Do not forget that during the MB rule of Egypt, the Shiite sheikh Hassan Shehata has been killed while he was declaring the testimony of Islam ''La Ilaha Ila Allah!" (There is no god but Allah) as seen in videos leaked in the internet. He begged in vain for his life. He was killed with two other Shiite Egyptians and his body was dragged in the street by his killer who shouted incessantly: "Allahu Akbar!" (Allah is Great!).

He said: But Saudi Shiites never got killed in the birth-land of Wahabism, right?

I said: The Saudi Wahabis cannot possibly kill millions of Saudi Shiites. But Shiites are not allowed to engage in political activism. Suffice it to say that in the KSA, no one is allowed to build a church or any non-Islamic houses of worship. In Egypt, there are heavy bureaucratic measures and red-tape to be followed just to fix a bathroom in a church; yet, Wahabis are ready to burn down all churches in Egypt. However, any Muslim in the West can buy a church to turn it into a mosque.

He said: There is a contrast between the West and the KSA indeed.

I said: Scandals are witnessed now worldwide; hundreds of thousands Syrian refugees fled famine and getting killed and they became homeless. Some drown in the sea, especially children and women. Survivors turn into beggars who dream of enter in Europe. They are in the danger of being followed by their enemies. This disgrace is witnessed worldwide, while the causers of this disgrace (Syrian regime, the KSA, ISIS and other terrorist groups) do not feel ashamed of themselves. The KSA, that claims to hoist the banner of Islam, tries to do the same now in Yemen!

He said: Some European countries reject the Syrian refugees and fear their presence.

I said: Wahabi Gulf monarchies should host all Syrian refugees instead. But could we ask the killers to take mercy of the sons of the killed ones? They would rather annihilate all Syrians to avoid revenge!

He said: I agree wholeheartedly, but Europe is supposed to be more merciful to the Syrian refugees as they are victims of Wahabism.

I said: They are victims of Wahabism on two occasions; they are homeless due to it and its curse follow them in their diaspora.

He said: How is that?

I said: Europe wants to help them but it fears the terrorism of ISIS that wages war against the West and cuts the throats of any westerners. ISIS terrorists do not hesitate to bomb any street or means of transportation in the West. It is certain that thousands of ISIS members have infiltrated the refugees to commit sabotage acts in Europe. Europeans wants to help the refugees but at the same time fear ISIS infiltration. European nations have a priority to protect their citizens.

He said: What about the USA?

I said: The same applies to the USA. We have witnessed the following ourselves. Before 9/11, immigration to the USA was easy. Wahabis made use of that to infiltrate the USA and control Muslims there. They established the so-called Islamic centers and Islamic Studies in all American universities. Millions of other Arabs came to study, work, or live I the USA using tourist visa and illegal stay. They return home and come back by renewing the visa easily. We know some people who stayed in the USA for 20 years illegally doing the same measures. Even one of the terrorist of 9/11 held the Green Card and a legal stay in the USA. How silly! Former president Bush referred to this once. Immigration measures tightened and became more severe in the USA visas, airports, and embassies. This is the curse of Bin Laden. Real threat of Wahabism made the west look doubtfully at all Muslims/Arabs. The same applies to Syrian refugees now. The KSA is to blame for that.

He said: West countries are not Islamic states, after all.

I said: We beg to differ. Islamic states are the ones ensuring justice, democracy, social solidarity and security, human rights, human dignity, and equality for all citizens and tourists. The mission of any state is not to urge people to follow a certain creed. This is personal freedom and responsibility. The real mission in any given state is to serve all citizens equally.

He said: So, West countries are Islamic states, in your opinion!

I said: Yes, in terms of Quranic notions and real sharia described in the holy Quran and all Quranic higher values.

He said: What about Arab states that claim to be Islamic states?

I said: They are the exact opposite; especially monarchies raising banners of ''Islam'' such as the Wahabi KSA.

He said: But the West countries adhere to human rights as per international agreements but disregard Quranic sharia laws.

I said: As an Islamic thinker, we testify that human rights as per international agreements are the nearest human perception of sharia laws in the holy Quran. Whereas the so-called ''Islamic'' sharia of Muhammadans is against God and Islam, i.e. the Quran alone, and it resembles regressive laws of the Middle Ages, with all its fanaticism, inequality, and backwardness.

He said: But the West suffers Islamophobia and fights against Islam!

I said: No; they fight an enemy thought to be Islam; i.e. Wahabi terrorism. It has come now to be called Islamism or the so-called political Islam. This malady is spread in all Arab countries as well as Pakistan and Afghanistan. The densely populated regions of South-Eastern Asia, India, and Muslims of Middle and Eastern Europe are against the so-called political Islam. Wahabis are not the majority of Muslims, then. But they are more vociferous and violent. They call themselves Islamists. This is a sham notion; there is no such a thing as Islamic movements.       

He said: the name of Islam should be cleared from Wahabism.

I said: We, the Quranists, are the only ones asserting that Islam is only the Quran. Islam has nothing to do with history, civilization, heritage, lines and schools of thought, and human-made creeds of Muslims that go against real Islam: the Quran. We strive to prove the discrepancy between the Quran on one hand and the Shiite, Sunnite, Wahabi, and Ibn Hanbal creeds on the other hand that instigate violence and evil deeds worldwide.

He said: How is your success so far?

I said: Our call for Quranism began to bear fruit in the USA. Moderate Islam gained some acknowledgment as the weapon against terrorist Wahabism and a tool to prove its contradictions with Quranic text.

He said: Could you prove this success?

I said: We, ourselves, are the evidence of this; we are an Islamic thinker who loves his religion and take pride in it. I call for peaceful reformation for Muslims from inside Islam; i.e. the Quran alone. The Quranic text is the only tool to judge heritage of Muslims' schools of thoughts, doctrines, notions…etc. the West knows about the persecution we suffered along with our family members in Egypt. We immigrated to the USA bearing all our personal history and reformist thought to continue the same intellectual jihad online. Rational Americans now know that not all Muslims are like Bin Laden. There are Quranists who refute Wahabi terrorist thought and ideology. We were imprisoned, persecuted, threatened by death due to our reformist notions.

He said: What is the stance of USA foundations and institutions vis-à-vis your call for Quranism?

I said: Our means in the USA are very limited. In the USA, one has to be rich or joining a supportive lobby to reach all levels of media. We are a poor Islamic thinker. The same applies to most Quranists in the USA and outside it worldwide. To be an independent Islamic thinker, you have no time to earn money. Our morals do not allow us to sell ourselves or our pens to write things you do not believe in. We fight in two fronts; to remain an independent free Islamic reformist thinker and to earn one's bread. This position is difficult to maintain, especially in the USA.

He said: But the so-called Islamic centers and mosques in the USA, that actually propagate Wahabism ideology of terror, receive donations in millions of US$, and people working in them live the life of millionaires.

I said: All of them as you say spread Wahabism as if it were the only Islam possible to exist. These centers profit from American liberty and from Saudi and Gulf states donations. All of these centers are the enemies of Quranists.

He said: What about Shiite centers inside and outside the USA? They should be the allies of Quranists against the common enemy: the Wahabis. Is that so?

I said: This is supposed to happen, but it did not. We, the Quranists, defend the right of peaceful Shiites to exist and defend the Shiites who are victims of the terrorism of Wahabism and Hanbalism (the Ibn Hanbal extremist fanatic doctrine of Sunnites and precursor of Wahabism). The Quranists call for the liberation of Mecca and Hejaz from the KSA occupation. We have called the Shiites to cooperate with Quranists, but all efforts in that respect were in vain.

He said: Why?

I said: Because I am not a Shiite; I am a Quranist. I write against the worship and deification of people, dead or alive, things, buildings, and locations.

He said: But uniting with Quranists is supposed to be for a political cause or stance; not for the sake of inter-religious dialogue between Shiites and Quranists. You are a reformist Islamic thinker and theorist who call for the reformation of what you call the Muhammadans to return to the Book of God, the Quran alone, and to be faithful only to God. You never impose your opinions on anyone and respect people's liberty to choose one's creed and thought. One should not mix between the political stance and the religious belief. Pragmatic benefit is the primary ABCs of politics. Both Shiites and Quranists should unite against their common enemy: the KSA and Wahabism.

I said: Hopefully, the Shiites would understand this one day.

He said: Did the Americans understand that?

I said: They come to our IQC when they need us. We have been invited once to a congress meeting to lecture on the discrepancy between Quranist Islam and Wahabism. We have been invited once to a federal court in Idaho as an expert witness to lecture on the discrepancy between Quranist Islam and Wahabism. We work as well in American institutions as a researcher by being recommended by some noble-minded Americans. Accordingly, we have worked in the following institutions. The National Endowment for Democracy to write a research on: Democracy of Islam and Tyranny of Muslim Rulers; Harvard University to write a research on: Reforming Islamic Schools in the USA to Comply with Human Rights and American Culture; The American Commission for International Religious Freedom to write a research on: Religious Freedom between Islam and Wahabism; and finallyWoodrow Wilson International Center for Scholarsto write a research on: Rules of Intellectual Islamic War against Terrorists. Thus, the highest levels in the USA know about the Quranist intellectual jihad.

He said: Why the Americans do not make full use of Quranists as they should?

I said: Probably because of the ''Muslim'' consultants in so many positions of decision-making in the USA. Most of them are non-Arab people from India and Pakistan. Not so many of them are Arabs. But all of them are traditional conservative Sunnites who adhere to the tenets of the Sunnite creed. That is why they pose as an insurmountable obstacle before the Quranists.

He said: Do you still feel hopeful?

I said: As long as we write, there is a glimmer of hope.