I'm not an anti-Semite, TV preacher insists
Repeats Holocaust Belief
Stewart Bell, National Post
Published: Friday, July 27, 2007
TORONTO - A fundamentalist Pakistani preacher, taken off the air by VisionTV this week in response to complaints, defended his beliefs about Jews yesterday but denied he was a hatemonger.
Asked to respond to VisionTV's decision to ban him from the multi-faith religious channel, Israr Ahmad "strongly refuted the impression that he hated the Jews or he held anti-Semitic views."
But the written statement, issued by his personal secretary in Lahore, went on to explain Mr. Ahmad's belief that the Holocaust was "Divine punishment" and that Jews would one day be "exterminated."
The Canadian channel is to begin airing an apology today for repeatedly broadcasting lectures by Mr. Ahmad, whose writings are filled with derogatory comments about Jews.
While VisionTV did not broadcast Mr. Ahmad's theories of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy, it has been airing his Koranic readings for several years, including a recent episode in which he said Muslims were required to either fight jihad on the battlefield or finance it.
The hour-long talks were featured on the weekly show Dil Dil Pakistan, which is produced by the Islamic Academic Foundation in Edmonton. The show's producer is Khalid Sehbai, a prominent Alberta businessman.
Mr. Sehbai said yesterday he feels badly because he was not aware that Mr. Ahmad's writings were so offensive. He said he bought the rights to Mr. Ahmad's videos and began airing them at least two years ago because they were among the few that discussed the Koran in English.
"I've never met the man myself," said Mr. Sehbai, a former Pakistan Air Force officer who moved to Canada in 1975 and whose company owns the CN Tower office building in Edmonton and several shopping malls in the city.
A popular speaker in Pakistan, Mr. Ahmad heads Tanzeem-e Islami, a revivalist organization trying to start an Islamic revolution in Pakistan that he claims will lead to global domination by Muslims.
But his theories about a New World Order controlled by "manipulating" Jews who secretly run the world's finances left many wondering what he was doing on Canada's government-regulated airwaves.
In his books, he compares Jews to "parasites," calls them "revengeful," "malicious," and "diabolical," and says they have a "deeply ingrained tendency to conspire." A sample of his writings: - "It is gratifying to learn that we Muslims enjoy two-fold superiority over the Jews." - "It is apparent to any careful observer that the Jews have continued to suffer the floggings of Divine punishment in the present century -- the Holocaust during the Second World War being a case in point." - "Moreover, as mentioned before, the conflict between the Jews and Muslims is going to result, ultimately, in the total extermination of the former, according to the Divine law of 'annihilation of the worse.' " - "The 'Supreme Power' of our time -- the United States of America -- is practically in the tight grip of a small Jewish minority, who is able to exert an immense amount of control over its international policies." - "More importantly, the global financial system is virtually in the hands of Jewish bankers, who, through the institution of usury, have become powerful enough to command the obedience of entire governments."
He also has unkind words for what he calls the "prejudice and intolerance" of Hindus. And he dismisses Christianity, saying "there is hardly any thing in this religion that can be described as 'Christian.'"
Vision president and CEO Bill Rogers said broadcasts of Mr. Ahmad's talks resulted from internal lapses and he is setting up a task force to review the network's standards and procedures. Vision has received a large number of complaints and threats since the controversy arose last week, he said.
NATIONALPOST.COM
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THE APOLOGY
TO BE READ ON VISIONTV
Recently, Dr. Israr Ahmad appeared as a presenter on the program Dil Dil Pakistan, broadcast on Saturdays on VisionTV. The National Post subsequently reported that Dr. Ahmad had made offensive remarks about people of the Jewish community in past speeches and writings. His appearance on this program deeply troubled a number of people and we apologize for any offence that was unknowingly caused. The producer of Dil Dil Pakistan has voluntarily removed Mr. Ahmad as a speaker on any future broadcast of Dil Dil Pakistan. It was never the intention of the producer, or of VisionTV, to offend viewers or to suggest in any way that hatred or violence towards people of other faiths or cultures is acceptable under any circumstances. VisionTV's goal--one which we have been successfully pursuing for decades --is to build bridges of understanding amongst Canadians of different faith and cultural backgrounds. Dil Dil Pakistan and programs like it provide windows into other cultures and religions. Dialogue is the best solution. We may from time to time make mistakes, but we will not waver from this focus.
THE STATEMENT
FROM ISRAR AHMAD
First of all, Dr. Israr Ahmad strongly refuted the impression that he hated the Jews or he held anti-Semitic views. How can he, he said, when our Prophet Muhammad, the last of the Prophets himself , was a Semitic. Moreover, since all men and women are the creation of the One Lord, there is no reason for hate among men. As regards Holocaust, he believed that there were several holocausts not only of Jews, the former Muslim ummah [community] but also of present Muslim ummah to which we belong and that [they] were surely Divine punishments for the misdeeds of the people belonging [to] these ummahs same as people belonging to previous ages were punished by God for violating His commands. So this was not particularly with the Jews or against the law of God. Regarding "extermination", Dr. Israr Ahmad said it was not a matter of our faith, rather a Prophetic prophecy and such prophecies were not common among Muslims only but among the Evangelical Christians as well, for which their famous organ "The Philadelphia Trumpet" may be consulted in which an article said that after the second coming of Jesus (Peace be upon him) eighty percent Jews will be killed. In the end Dr. Israr Ahmad said, Jihad i.e. the struggle to establish the just politico-socio-economic order ordained by the Creator of all humanity and given to mankind through his last Messenger Muhammad so as to bring peace and harmony in the world, should not be considered a bad thing.
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