Muhammad ibn Salman

Ladies and gentlemen, another spectacular demonstration of dishonesty from the Axis of Kool-Aid propagandists. Apparently, even a religious sermon must be butchered, stripped of its context and repackaged to manufacture another political accusation against a Syrian scholar. Their contempt for intellectual honesty is becoming almost as predictable as their propaganda. The accusation being circulated is that Sheikh Anas al-Awad of Damascus declared, “I will not pray for Gaza”, supposedly because Assad previously encouraged supplications for Palestine and its resistance. This presentation omits the very context necessary to understand what the Sheikh was explaining. Here is the full sermon. Listen for yourselves rather than allowing propagandists to decide which sentences you are permitted to hear. facebook.com/share/v/19osPcc… The sermon opens by addressing the recurring question: سؤال يتكرر: لماذا لا تدع لأهل غزة “A recurring question: Why do you not supplicate for the people of Gaza?” He subsequently discusses the practices associated with: النظام السابق “The previous regime.” The central distinction in his explanation is between the repetitive, state-scripted public supplications associated with the former Assad regime and sincere, continuous supplication for the suffering Muslims of Gaza. He does not instruct Muslims to abandon Gaza. According to the fuller account of the sermon, he urges worshippers to remember Gaza in their personal sujud, to weep and supplicate for its children, women and elderly, and to move beyond public expressions of sympathy towards meaningful ideas and practical assistance for Palestinians. That is an entirely different message from the accusation being circulated. The Prophet ﷺ said: كفى بالمرء كذبا أن يحدث بكل ما سمع “It is enough for a man to be considered a liar that he narrates everything he hears.” Sahih Muslim, Introduction. Consider the disgrace of invoking the suffering of Gaza while circulating an accusation without presenting the complete words of the person being accused. Palestinian suffering is not a convenient instrument for settling political scores with Syrians who endured the brutality of the Assad regime. You cannot establish someone’s position by extracting a provocative sentence, discarding the explanation that follows, and pretending that your interpretation is the entire sermon. That is not scholarship, investigation or sincere concern for Palestine. It is propaganda masquerading as moral outrage. And the irony is extraordinary. Those who demand justice for Palestine should understand better than anyone why deliberate omissions, manipulated narratives and selective quotations are dangerous. Yet some appear perfectly willing to employ those same methods when the target is a Syrian preacher they politically despise. If the Sheikh truly prohibited supplication for Gaza, produce the complete passage demonstrating that prohibition. If he actually encouraged Muslims to supplicate privately for Gaza’s suffering population, explain why your presentation concealed that distinction. The burden of proof belongs to those making the accusation, not to those demanding that his words be presented in full. Allah جل جلاله says: يا أيها الذين آمنوا اتقوا الله وكونوا مع الصادقين “O you who have believed, fear Allah and be with those who are true.” Surah al-Tawbah 9:119. You do not defend Palestine by distorting the words of another Muslim. You do not honour Gaza’s martyrs by weaponising their suffering against Syrians. And you certainly do not become a champion of truth by circulating selective excerpts while expecting everyone else to remain too ignorant to examine the original. The full sermon is available above. Listen to it, compare it with the circulating accusation, and judge the claim on the complete evidence rather than the political loyalties of those promoting it.