Early version. Transcripts and tags are labelled by accuracy tier. A position is shown only after two independent reviews have found it in his own words.
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Palestine and Gaza
20 answers in 5 recordings, 2020 to 2021. 17 with a checked position in his own words.
Indexed so far: 259 of 1,859 recordings (1,904 answers, 2014 to 2025). Anything below may change as the rest are indexed. Limits of the data
Thought Evolution
2020answers checked positions2021
Oldest first. A checked position shows what he holds, then the sentence he says, word for word from the transcript, with its moment. Years without one list the answers that have not been checked yet. Recordings not yet indexed may hold more.
Mufti Abu Layth says that if Muslims justify the reconversion by the principle that might is right, they cannot complain when, by the same logic, Israel converts al-Aqsa back into the Temple of Solomon or India's Hindu majority converts mosques into temples.
“if you want to abide by this fair enough but don't come crying tomorrow when Masjid al-aqsa because it's under Israeli control is then converted back to the Temple of Solomon”
Mufti Abu Layth says justifying the reconversion by the Muslim majority's legal power is the principle of Thrasymachus that might is right, and that by the same logic Israel could convert al-Aqsa into the Temple of Solomon and India's Hindu majority could convert mosques into temples, so Muslims cannot then complain.
“if you want to abide by this fair enough but don't come crying tomorrow when masjid al-aqsa because it's under israeli control is then converted back to the temple of solomon”
Mufti Abu Layth says he would argue for the Palestinians of Gaza and the blockaded areas to be relocated comfortably, with compensation, to different parts of the Arab world.
“now i feel that they should be relocated and comfortably with compensation and accommodation and education paid for in different parts of the arab world”
Mufti Abu Layth says the Palestinian crisis has an occupation layer, the illegal Israeli occupation and forced removals that are clear oppression and a crime against humanity, and a political layer involving Gulf normalisation with Israel, Netanyahu's domestic position and Arab neighbours' interest in a buffer zone.
“i mean there are layers to this crisis one layer is that of the illegal israeli occupancy that they have moved in illegally they have expanded”
Mufti Abu Layth says a global outcry is necessary even though Israel acts with impunity and people can boycott Israeli products, but that social-media posts make no difference to the crisis, so Muslims should not guilt-trip others who do not make them.
“people doing this in all honesty makes zero difference to the actual crisis israel is not going to stop because you posted something on instagram”
Mufti Abu Layth says blocking the roads into Birmingham at rush hour was an utter disservice to the Palestinian cause, since frustration gives nobody the right to break the law, it distressed uninvolved civilians and it increased sentiment against Palestine.
“this is an utter disservice to the palestinian cause you have to understand that people trying to justify this by stating that oh but we are frustrated and angry one it does not give anybody the right”
Mufti Abu Layth says that Israel is here to stay, which leaves a limited set of solutions: a two-state solution, naturalisation of Palestine within Israel, or relocation as in al-Albani's fatwa of hijrah, which he compares to evacuating a house whose fire cannot be put out.
“tyrannical as israel is it is here to stay it is not going anywhere now that only leaves a certain amount of solutions one would be a two-state solution”
Mufti Abu Layth says the conflict is a genocide rather than a war, and that egging Palestinians on towards martyrdom from the comfort of one's home is an armchair-coward approach.
“so this this raza israel war is not a war it is a genocide and people have to you see the reality is that that's all it is”
Mufti Abu Layth says archaeology has not substantiated the kingdoms of David and Solomon, that early Muslim scholars differed over whether al-Masjid al-Aqsa was in Jerusalem or the heavens and whether the night journey was a vision, and that the Umayyads under Abd al-Malik fabricated hadith to promote Jerusalem against Ibn al-Zubayr in Makkah.
“the truth is it was abdul malik and it was the umayyad caliphate that did a huge amount of jerusalem propaganda to rival abdullah zubair in mecca and they fabricated a hell of a lot of hadith”
Mufti Abu Layth says ordinary people are largely helpless beyond pressuring members of parliament, economic boycotts and dua, that no land is worth a genocide, and that, since the Prophet taught people to migrate, an assessment that a genocide is under way calls for migration or else meaningful negotiation.
“it is not this land is never worth the genocide the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam did teach people to migrate”
Mufti Abu Layth says that at a state level Israel is a terrorist state that has committed documented war crimes against Palestinians, that saying so is not antisemitism, and that the UAE's recognition deal has brought no peace and is not a solution.
“israel is a at a state level it is a terrorist at a state level okay this is not anti-semitism i'm not against jewish people”
Mufti Abu Layth holds that Israel is here to stay, that a two-state solution would be ideal but will never happen, and that the Palestinians of Gaza and the blockaded areas should instead be relocated with compensation, housing and education across the Arab world rather than guilt-tripped into staying.
“i then would argue for a complete exile of all palestinians i would say that all palestinians should leave palestine and it should be facilitated for them”
Mufti Abu Layth holds that from an Islamic viewpoint Jerusalem was never as sacred as it is now held to be, that its glorification began when the caliph Abd al-Malik built the Dome of the Rock as a rival to Makkah, and that in his understanding al-Masjid al-Aqsa, 'the farthest', was in the heavens rather than in Jerusalem.
“al-aqsa the farthest point is not jerusalem why is that the farthest point on earth so the al-aqsa would have been in the heavens in my understanding”
Mufti Abu Layth holds that the war against Israel is lost, that the preservation of life comes before holy places since a Muslim's honour outweighs the Kaaba destroyed and rebuilt seven times, and that Muslims guilt-trip Palestinians into staying and dying.
“life comes before place like if you had if you had the choice to save a life or the kaaba”
How many of these answers cite each (guest speech left out). Cited means named as evidence or discussed, not necessarily accepted: open the answers to see which.
