"The future belongs to Islam. The Islamic caliphate is bound to come, as was foretold by our Prophet Muhammad."

He said it.

From MEMRI December 12

Sheikh Ahmad Abu Quddum of Jordan's Tahrir Party Discusses Jihad Against Germany, Pledges to Impose 'Jizya' Poll Tax on Non-Muslims, and Vows to Annihilate Israel

Following are excerpts from an interview with Sheikh Ahmad Abu Quddum of the Tahrir Party in Jordan, which aired on JoSat TV on December 8, 2011.

JoSat, a private Jordanian channel, is owned by businessman Riyadh Al-Huroub. His wife, Rula Al-Huroub, is the moderator on this show. Sheikh Ahmad Abu Al-Quddum is a leader of the Tahrir party in Jordan. According to Islamist forums, this was the first time a member of the Tahrir party appeared on a Jordanian television channel.

Interviewer: "Should the Muslims fight the People of the Book [i.e. Jews and Christians], in order to force them to pay the jizya poll tax? Should the Muslims fight all the People of the Book worldwide?"

Sheikh Ahmad Abu Quddum: "This fighting is in order to remove obstacles. It is waged against countries, not against individuals. When we declare Jihad against Germany, for instance, it is declared against the German state, for refusing to allow Islam to spread to the people of Germany. We give them a choice: Either to convert to Islam, or to pay the jizya and submit to the laws of Islam. The jizya is the only tax paid by non-Muslims, whereas the Muslims pay thezakkat, the kharraj, and the rikkaz, as well as other taxes, if there is not enough money for the army…"

Interviewer: "So why does it come as a surprise that the Europeans fear you, when you say that we should fight them all…"

Sheikh Ahmad Abu Quddum: "We should fight the states and the armies, not the people…"

Interviewer: "Exactly, you want to fight the states…"

Sheikh Ahmad Abu Quddum: "We will not fight the people, we will not kill the people, but if a certain state insists on preventing the spread of Islam on its soil, we will fight that state."

Interviewer: "So Samuel Huntington's book The Clash of Civilizations, and even before that, Fukuyama, who predicted that the next conflict would be between Islam and the West… What you are saying means that they were right…"

Sheikh Ahmad Abu Quddum: "There is indeed a clash of civilizations. They brought colonialism to us… If not for Jihad, Islam would not have reached us and all the other places. Within a quarter of a century, Islam reached most of the ancient world by means of Jihad.

"The common people want Islam. Anyone who doesn't can stick to his own religion. Here in the Levant, most of our forefathers were not Muslims, but they converted to Islam because of its goodness and justice. The small minority in the Muslim countries that remained…"

Interviewer: "Fine. Let me just ask you an important question. So, we are commanded to fight in order to spread the religion of Allah…"

Sheikh Ahmad Abu Quddum: "Yes, this is Islam's way of spreading." […]

Interviewer: "If you come to power, will you liberate Palestine?"

Sheikh Ahmad Abu Quddum: "Yes, yes. Jihad should be declared in order to annihilate Israel. This is a monstrous entity that must be eradicated."

But if I say that the Sheikh is saying what is reported here, I am accused of taking what Quddum said out of context and of being an Islamophobe.

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