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Mohamed Hoblos (above) attracted international attention in 2016 due to a popular YouTube sermon entitled: ‘Whose side are you on?’[1] The fiery Islamic preacher from Sydney lists some sins forbidden by Islam. He mentions selling drugs, murder, adultery, fornication, raping a child and drinking alcohol. However the connection he makes with the five-times daily Islamic ritual prayer (salat) is unnerving. He states:
This person, one person, who commits all of these sins – he commits all of these sins on a daily basis – but he prays, is better in the eyes of Allah than the one who doesn’t commit any of these sins, but doesn’t pray. …Any person that misses one prayer – one, not two… One prayer, you miss one prayer for no reason… You are worse than a murderer, you are worse than a rapist, you are worse than a terrorist, you are worse than a pedophile in the eyes of Allah.[2]
There seems to be some support for Hoblos’ radical views in the authentic traditions, the hadith of Islam. The prophet Muhammad is reported to have said that “whoever leaves the [mid-afternoon] prayer, all his (good) deeds will be annulled.”[3] In another hadith, Muhammad says: “Between man and polytheism and unbelief is the abandonment of salat (Islamic prayers).”[4] The comparison with murder, rape, terrorism and pedophilia are Hoblos’ own additions. In another sermon[5] he cites an authentic hadith where Muhammad cursed women who pluck their eyebrows and those who have tattoos.[6] There is a serious disconnect between what is cursed by Allah’s prophet and what gets covered by performing daily prayers.
This confused and offensive hierarchy of values resulted in a chorus of condemnation, with some Muslims joining in. His organisation’s page, the OnePath Network, was later banned by a social-media network platform for another matter for ‘hate speech’.[7]
A survey of Hoblos’ other ‘motivational lectures’ posted on Youtube gives some insight into his thinking. His lecture entitled “Who are you to question Allah?” cites a Qur’anic verse: ‘It is unbefitting that when Allah and his Prophet (i.e. Muhammad) have declared a matter, a believing man or woman should have an opinion on the issue.’[8] He notes:
You can use logic to establish the existence of God. But once you have established the existence of Allah, and that he has a book and Prophet, we ask you to put your logic aside … In Islam, it is no longer logic, it is submission … Don’t ever question Allah and his Prophet.[9]
With this premise of unquestioning acquiescense, it might make sense that a praying Muslim who commits murder, rape, terrorism or paedophilia every day is better than someone who misses a single prayer session. By Hoblos’ reasoning, a praying Muslim who rapes a child every day is a better person than a non-Muslim, because the latter does not pray in a way accepted by him as a conservative Muslim. Such teaching surely can only foster a divisive sense of superiority.
Remarkably Mohamed Hoblos was a featured speaker at Preston Mosque at a meeting sponsored by the Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV). Early last month, Hoblos was advertised as giving a ‘motivational lecture’[10] at Melbourne’s biggest and most prestigious mosque under the auspices of Victoria’s peak body for Muslims. The Preston Mosque’s Facebook page notes that the lecture was not live-streamed or recorded. The topic of his lecture was not given.
According to the ICV website home page,
The Islamic Council of Victoria strives to foster and enable a vibrant Islamic Community where Muslims enrich society through the values of Islam. The ICV is the peak Muslim body in the state of Victoria representing an estimated 270,000 Muslims via 76 member societies representing over 100 diverse ethnic communities. We offer both advocacy and social welfare services while leading state and national initiatives on social cohesion through community consultation and advice to all forms of lead agencies.[11]
How does it promote “social cohesion” to give a platform to a preacher whose public teaching implies that a Muslim rapist who prays is superior in God’s eyes to a Muslim or a non-Muslim who does not pray? How does giving such a person a platform help Muslims in Victoria “enrich society through the values of Islam”? Victorians should expect better from the ICV.
Dr Bernie Power is a lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Melbourne School of Theology
[1] Excerpt of his sermon: https://www.memri.org/tv/australian-islamic-preacher-hoblos-if-you-miss-one-prayer-you-are-worse-than-murdering-terrorist-child-rapist
[2] Full sermon : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwdw_S1z8wg (excerpt taken from 17 minute mark)
[3] Hadith Sahih alBukhari 553 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:553
[4] Hadith Sahih Muslim 82b https://sunnah.com/muslim:82b
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMtv-xEO0zA At time point 37.21 mins
[6] Hadith Ibn Majah (Sahih)1989 https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:1989
[7] https://onepathnetwork.com/tiktok-has-permanently-banned-us/
[8] Qur’an 33:36
[9] Time-mark 52.40 of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv8K2HkzW1c
[10] https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=296966992660419&set=a.254634060227046 (posting on May 2nd, 2023)
Arrived at the supermarket checkout at the same time as a chap dressed like that reverend above except his beard was darker and fuller and his hat had stuff embroided on it reminiscent of things grandmothers used to embroider on cushion covers etc. I decided to allow the person to precede me and said “you go first missus” and got “I am not the missus” in a deep voice so I replied with “sorry missus, the dress had me somewhat fooled”. The person stalked off muttering darkly and it took some little time for the checkout lady to regain her composure. The amusing part was that the supermarket trolley appeared to be in need of a grease and oil change plus a wheel alignment for it squeaked and sidled along reminding one of something perhaps only Spike Milligan or Monthy Python could dream up.
We flew out of Zurich Airport a matter of weeks after the September 2001 atrocity. A gentleman, dressed as above, was explaining to the security staff that his wives could not remove their veils for a security check. Three security officers, armed to the teeth, marched he and his wives off, at gunpoint…..We don’t know if he and his wives were on the plane, or not.
Good one Botswana.
I’ve just received my copy of The Critical Qur’an by Robert Spencer. Now I’ll read the Q book, with textual variants identified, correct translations rather than English euphemisms, and critical apparatus, including hadith. I might get to some of the underlying beliefs of this RoP (religion of Peace…if you are Muslim, that is).
Very few people in the West who are not Muslims, especially politicians, understand Islam. To understand Islam one needs to understand the Islamic mentality. For instance, the Koran can be read, interpreted and lived out peacefully. That is a perfectly valid expression of Islam. At the same time, the Koran can be read, interpreted and lived out violently. That is likewise a perfectly valid expression of Islam. And no Muslim can say to another- “Your interpretation of Islam is wrong.” All one Muslim can say to another is – “Your interpretation of Islam is not the same as mine.” How then can this irrationality be reconciled? It can’t be because since the 12th century Muslims have been forbidden to apply the faculty of Reason when reading and interpreting the Koran. Hence they are in a cul de sac of irrationality out of which they cannot get. And when they are living amongst us in the West, we are stuck in there with them. That’s the bottom line.
Surely interpretation varies in all religions? Many Christians like to ignore the Old Testament and focus on the New.
Islam, like any religion, consists of mainly moderates who have nothing in common with the fanatics. All religions have fanatics and violent fanatics including Buddhists.
Why single out Islam?
You find similar views in all orthodox religions. Why target Muslims?
It is worth bearing in mind Islam is 600 years younger than Christianity and if we applied the same Christian belief systems from 600 years ago there would be perspective.
From Judeo-christian teaching, a similar theme, that it is not the sin which matters but the act of repentance.
Quote: The unrepentant will die in a lake of fire at the end of the age (Matthew 10:28; Revelation 20:14-15). It’s not that one sin is more terrible than another is, but rather that any sin we don’t repent of will result in death. Hebrews 6:4-6 and Hebrews 10:26-27 both mention this sin as well, warning us not to “fall away” or to “sin willfully.” How does one know if he has crossed the point of no return?
So long as one desires to repent, to get his or her life back in order spiritually, God will always forgive. Sadly, it is possible to come to a state of not caring about and not looking for forgiveness. If there’s no repentance, there can be no forgiveness. That’s when a person is in danger of the unforgivable sin. A person can come to that place either by simply drifting away or by sharply turning away from God in angry hostility.
And I would add, any fundamentalist religion is problematic and followers are not going to assimilate into Australian society. From that perspective, none of them, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist etc., should be considered eligible as migrants. The fact that most Islamic migrants come from less developed countries and cultures means they are not going to play the pretence of assimilation as well as the others. But any orthodox religion is insular and self-protective which means they cannot and do not assimilate because orthodoxy rejects change.
This refers to the YouTube piece- Murder ,rape ,assault, lying, drug taking and trafficking, scheming and cheating and insincerely befriending are acceptable and appreciable so long as it is prayerfully done in the name of Allah. If it not prayerfully sacrificed in the name of Allah it is considered morally an unforgivable sin….
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