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Middle East and the wider world
37 segments in 10 recordings · 2015 to 2021 · 0 verified · 25 checked positions · society/current-events/middle-east-and-world · Feed
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Click a year to jump to itLatest answer · 17 May 2021
17 May 2021video
LatestAre Bin Bayyah and Hamza Yusuf to blame for the UAE's deal with Israel?
No, in Mufti Abu Layth's view: the UAE's ruler does not take direction from scholars, Bin Bayyah is said to have disliked the treaty while deferring to the ruler's decision, and Hamza Yusuf had nothing to do with it. He opens with condolences for the losses in Gaza.
machine3 min 58 s1:22on YouTube
Earlier answers · 36 · newest first
2021 · 12
17 May 2021video
Has the UAE's recognition of Israel brought any peace?
No: Mufti Abu Layth says two weeks of bombardment followed the deal, so it is not a solution. He calls Israel a terrorist state at the state level, with war crimes documented by the UN and academics such as Chomsky and Finkelstein, and stresses this is not antisemitism.
machine3 min 57 s4:00on YouTube
17 May 2021video
What does Mufti Abu Layth think should happen to the Palestinians in Gaza?
Since Israel is here to stay and a two-state solution will not happen, Mufti Abu Layth proposes relocating the Palestinians of Gaza and the blockaded areas across the Arab world with compensation, housing and education, spread out rather than in ghettos. He says Muslims guilt-trip Palestinians into staying and Arab states value them as a buffer zone.
machine5 min 17 s7:57on YouTube
17 May 2021video
Should Palestinians stay and defend the holy land at the cost of their lives?
No, in Mufti Abu Layth's view: life comes before place, a Muslim's honour outweighs the Kaaba rebuilt seven times, and the whole earth is a place of prayer. He says the war is lost and that those who insist Palestinians stay would stop caring about them once they were safe elsewhere.
machine2 min 39 s15:51on YouTube
17 May 2021video
Why does Mufti Abu Layth compare the Palestinian situation to facing a knife?
His escrima teacher's rule was to run from a knife and fight only when running is impossible, and he applies it to an enemy that will not back down. He repeats that the UAE deal has brought nothing and that Bin Bayyah and Hamza Yusuf should not be blamed for it.
machine3 min 57 s18:30on YouTube
17 May 2021video
LatestWhat does Mufti Abu Layth think the solution for Kashmir is?
Independence for at least part of Kashmir, such as the valley, from both India and Pakistan, with buffers so Pakistan is not exposed, though he does not expect it to happen. Kashmir differs from Gaza in being a militarised zone rather than a bombarded prison, and India would not pay to relocate anyone.
machine2 min 41 s22:27on YouTube
15 May 2021video
What are the layers behind the Palestinian crisis of May 2021?
The crisis has an occupation layer, which Mufti Abu Layth calls clear oppression and a crime against humanity, and a political layer: Gulf normalisation with Israel, Netanyahu's domestic insecurity and fear politics, and Arab neighbours' interest in a Palestinian buffer zone.
machine6 min 33 s1:20on YouTube
15 May 2021video
Is the Gaza conflict a war or a genocide, and who is egging Palestinians on?
Mufti Abu Layth calls the conflict a genocide rather than a war and says urging Palestinians towards martyrdom from the comfort of one's home is armchair cowardice, driven by Arab buffer-zone interests and a religious-centre mentality.
machine2 min 38 s18:19on YouTube
15 May 2021video
What can people realistically do for Palestine, and is migration an option?
Politics runs through every side of the crisis, and ordinary people are largely helpless beyond pressuring MPs, boycotts and dua; Mufti Abu Layth says no land is worth a genocide and that the Prophet taught migration where an assessment calls for it, or else meaningful negotiation.
machine6 min 19 s27:26on YouTube
26 Apr 2021MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
How does the Chinese state deal with religion?
The guest describes Chinese paper offerings burned for the dead, a government crackdown on their modern forms, and the Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign as examples of the state managing religion.
machine8 min 59 s44:07on YouTube
26 Apr 2021MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
Why does China try to control who becomes the Dalai Lama?
The guest says China's attempt to control the Dalai Lama's reincarnation shows a state using religion, something he sees in pieces in Muslim countries and elsewhere.
machine5 min 11 s53:12on YouTube
26 Apr 2021MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
What inspired Lupe Fiasco's song Words I Never Said?
The guest says 'Words I Never Said' was his attempt, at the height of his fame, to speak truth to power about wealth disparity and militarism.
machine2 min 37 s1:48:51on YouTube
16 Feb 2021Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth
What does the Mufti think of Fethullah Gulen?
Mufti Abu Layth says he knows little about Gulen beyond his influential network of schools with an Islamic ethos, and will read up on him.
machine1 min 09 s59:27on YouTube
2020 · 22
16 Jul 2020video
What is the Hagia Sophia and what did Turkey decide about it?
Turkey's courts under Erdogan ruled that the Hagia Sophia be converted back into a mosque, prompting celebration and mockery of objectors online. The building was built by Justinian I as a cathedral, once the largest in the eastern Christian world.
machine2 min 43 s0:00on YouTube
16 Jul 2020video
Does Islam allow converting churches and other places of worship into mosques?
Islam never set out to convert other religions' holy sites: Umar left Jerusalem's churches alone, and Quran 22:40 counts monasteries, churches and synagogues among places where Allah's name is glorified and which He protects. The Hagia Sophia's conversion happened, but it was not what Islam encourages.
machine5 min 15 s2:43on YouTube
16 Jul 2020video
Was it haram for Muslims to turn the Hagia Sophia into a mosque after the conquest?
No, he says: it was the politics of conquest in medieval times, done by Muslims and Christians alike and neither encouraged nor prohibited by Islam, but it was not a good thing. The building later became a museum, and the argument now is only that it was once a mosque.
machine2 min 37 s7:58on YouTube
16 Jul 2020video
Is it wrong to turn the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque?
Yes, he says: not as a matter of halal and haram, since Turkey may do what it wants with its property, but it is absolutely wrong and a great mistake, driven by the regime's bid to lead the Islamic world.
machine2 min 38 s10:35on YouTube
16 Jul 2020video
Were the Ottomans the representatives of Islam?
No, he says: the Ottoman Empire was a dynasty that happened to be Muslim, practised mandatory fratricide and styled its sultans 'Caesar of Rome', and never claimed to be a symbol of Islam. The romantic image is a later invention.
machine2 min 35 s13:13on YouTube
16 Jul 2020video
Does Istanbul need the Hagia Sophia as a mosque?
No: the Blue Mosque, with room for at least ten thousand, is a four-minute walk away and hundreds of Istanbul mosques already call the adhan, so the emotional reaction to hearing the adhan there is misplaced.
machine2 min 38 s15:48on YouTube
16 Jul 2020video
If Muslims can reconvert the Hagia Sophia, can Israel or India reconvert mosques too?
By the 'might is right' logic used to justify the reconversion, he says, Israel could turn al-Aqsa into the Temple of Solomon and India's Hindu majority could turn mosques into temples, so Muslims who celebrate cannot then complain. Leave the building be.
machine3 min 56 s18:26on YouTube
16 Jul 2020video
Can a waqf never be overturned, as the argument for the Hagia Sophia claims?
Mufti Abu Layth says the waqf argument fails because Abu Hanifa himself held that an endowment can be overturned, a view Hanafis abandon when it does not serve the powerful or the clergy. He calls the reconversion part of a rising right-wing fascism that includes Muslims.
machine3 min 58 s22:22on YouTube
14 Jul 2020live stream
What happened with the Hagia Sophia?
Turkey's courts ruled that the Hagia Sophia, originally Justinian's cathedral, be turned back into a mosque, to celebration and mockery online.
machine3 min 47 s1:14:09on YouTube
14 Jul 2020live stream
Does Islam allow turning churches into mosques?
Islam never set out to convert other faiths' holy sites: Umar left Jerusalem's churches alone, and Quran 22:40 names them among places where Allah's name is glorified.
machine5 min 09 s1:17:16on YouTube
14 Jul 2020live stream
Was it haram for the Ottomans to turn the Hagia Sophia into a mosque?
The original conversion was not haram but the politics of conquest, practised by Muslims and Christians alike, and he does not think it was good.
machine2 min 35 s1:22:25on YouTube
14 Jul 2020live stream
Is it wrong to turn the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque?
It is not haram, since Turkey may do as it likes with its property, but it is absolutely wrong and a great mistake, done for political standing.
machine2 min 33 s1:25:00on YouTube
14 Jul 2020live stream
Were the Ottomans representatives of Islam?
The Ottoman Empire was a dynasty that happened to be Muslim, never a symbol of Islam; the romantic image is a later invention.
machine2 min 33 s1:27:33on YouTube
14 Jul 2020live stream
Does Istanbul need the Hagia Sophia as a mosque?
There is no need: the Blue Mosque, holding ten thousand, is four minutes away and hundreds of mosques in Istanbul already call the adhan.
machine3 min 13 s1:30:06on YouTube
14 Jul 2020live stream
If Turkey can reconvert the Hagia Sophia, can Israel or India reconvert mosques too?
By the 'might is right' logic behind the reconversion, Israel could reclaim al-Aqsa and India's Hindus the Babri Masjid, so Muslims who celebrate cannot then complain.
machine3 min 50 s1:33:19on YouTube
14 Jul 2020live stream
Can a mosque that was once a waqf never be anything else?
The waqf argument fails, he says, because Abu Hanifa held that an endowment can be overturned, a view Hanafis drop when it does not serve power.
machine3 min 13 s1:37:09on YouTube
14 Jul 2020live stream
Isn't the Prophet clearing the Kaaba of idols a precedent for the Hagia Sophia?
No: removing the idols from the Kaaba was about ending superstition, and cannot justify converting a museum in a secular country, which he calls a political stunt.
machine2 min 36 s1:47:58on YouTube
14 Jul 2020live stream
Was Sudan right to drop its alcohol and apostasy laws and end flogging?
Mufti Abu Layth welcomes Sudan's reforms: flogging today only damages Islam's message, FGM should be outlawed, and alcohol was never prohibited for non-Muslims.
machine2 min 28 s2:08:00on YouTube
10 Jul 2020MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
Was it right for Turkey to turn the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque?
Mufti Abu Layth would not issue a fatwa against praying in the Hagia Sophia, but says Muslims should stop being insecure and be comfortable in their skin.
machine1 min 56 s2:25:24on YouTube
26 Jun 2020MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
Why was Rashad Khalifa assassinated?
The guest says Rashad Khalifa was declared an apostate by a 1989 Madinah gathering under Ibn Baz and killed within a year by a group linked to al-Qaeda, and he lists coincidences of the number 19 around the murder, Y2K and the 9/11 attacks.
machine5 min 12 s1:56:52on YouTube
26 Jun 2020MindTrap with Mufti Abu Layth
Should social media companies be allowed to censor people as the new public square?
The guest says Twitter suspended him at the Turkish government's instance and that corporations now controlling the virtual public square should be regulated and bound by due process; Mufti Abu Layth agrees the question is a fascinating one.
machine3 min 55 s2:49:10on YouTube
3 Mar 2020From the Mind of a Mufti
What does the Mufti think of Shaykh Ramadan al-Buti?
Mufti Abu Layth regards al-Buti as a great scholar of his time whose books, especially Ma'a al-Nas, he benefited from. He says it is a shame al-Buti got caught up in Syrian politics.
machine1 min 24 s0:00on YouTube
2015 · 2
6 Apr 2015video
What does Mufti Abu Layth think of ISIS?
ISIS is a ruthless takfiri threat to everyone, Muslims most of all, and he signed the first British fatwa against it. He rejects collective guilt for Muslims and says Western foreign policy and the Iraq prisons helped create it.
machine3 min 54 s27:36on YouTube
6 Apr 2015video
Why is Islamophobia rising?
Mufti Abu Layth says it is rising as a reaction to the worldwide awakening of Muslims to their faith, because people fear what they do not understand, and because of scaremongering and a few fools who misportray Islam.
machine2 min 38 s44:32on YouTube