71 Quotes by Feisal Abdul Rauf

Islamic law is clearly against terrorism, against any kind of deliberate killing of civilians or similar ‘collateral damage.’

The truth is that killing innocent people is always wrong – and no argument or excuse, no matter how deeply believed, can ever make it right. No religion on earth condones the killing of innocent people; no faith tradition tolerates the random killing of our brothers and sisters on this earth.

In the 20th century, the Muslim world created a vision of religious nationalism. Turkey, for example, had to be ethnically Turkish. Kurds, Armenians, other minorities didn’t have a place in such a vision of a nation-state.

It is part of my responsibility as a bridge builder to speak the truth about what’s great about America, what we’ve done right, and what our less glorious moments. And many people feel that the Iraq adventure, for example, has been one of our less glorious moments.

I read, read enormously on all different fields of Islamic thought, from philosophy to Islamic literature, poetry, exegeses, knowledge of the Hadith, the teachings of the prophet. That’s how I trained myself. And then I was appointed imam by a Sufi master from Istanbul, Turkey.

Koran says whoever believes in God in the last day shall be saved. It is a religion whose very name, Islam, comes from the word Shalom, which means peace. It’s about establishing peace. We greet each other with peace be upon you, which the Jews do in greeting each other.

There are individuals who are working very hard to promote fear and antagonism towards Islam and Muslims in this country. It’s fueled, in part, by the first African-American president that we have. Obama’s father was a Muslim and people have used this to arouse hostility against him.

There are always people who will – who will do peculiar things and think that they are doing things in the name of their religion.

What’s brilliant about the United States system of government is separation of power. Not only the executive, legislative, judicial branches, but also the independence of the military from civilians, an independent media and press, an independent central bank.