Transcript [00:00] Prophet David, peace be upon him from [00:02] the Quran. And where did he live? He did [00:05] not live in Palestine. He lived in [00:07] Israel, the land of God's chosen people. [00:12] Um, in the Quran 143 times you hear, you [00:17] see the word Israel, the children of [00:19] Israel, the people of Israel, the land [00:22] of Israel. There is no mention of [00:24] Palestine. Never heard of it. And all of [00:27] a sudden, you know, you come, I came to [00:30] America and I started hearing these [00:31] different versions of the Quran. The [00:34] Quran is a Zionist document. [00:36] >> Welcome to this episode of [00:37] Shouldertoshoulder, a podcast where a [00:39] pastor and a rabbi get to the heart of [00:41] issues that matter to people of faith. [00:43] I'm Pastor Doug Reed here with my friend [00:45] Rabbi Pesak Waliki. And on this episode, [00:47] we'll be having a conversation with [00:49] Anila Ali, founder and president of [00:52] American Muslim and Multiffaith Women's [00:54] Empowerment Council. and we're going to [00:56] be talking about Islamic Zionism. Before [00:59] we jump into our conversation, please [01:01] like our Facebook page and join our [01:03] Facebook group, the Shoulder-to-Ser [01:04] Community, where you can interact with [01:06] PESOC and me all week long. The best way [01:09] to support this podcast is to go on over [01:11] to Patreon, subscribe to [01:12] Shouldertoshoulder. For just $10 a [01:14] month, you're helping us bring this [01:16] message of shoulder-to-shoulder to more [01:17] and more people all around the world. As [01:19] a thank you for your $10 subscription, [01:21] you'll get exclusive access to chapterby [01:23] chapter Bible study beginning in Genesis [01:25] chapter 1 from Rabbi Peso and myself. So [01:28] go on over to Patreon, subscribe to [01:30] Shouldertoshoulder for just $10 a month. [01:33] We are so grateful for our sponsor, [01:35] Israel 365 News, which is the place for [01:37] you to go and get your news and [01:39] information before going to anyone else. [01:42] Go on over to israel365news.com [01:45] to check out some of their articles and [01:47] be sure to read Rabbi Peso and my [01:49] columns. Peso, each and every week, [01:52] Israel 365 has an incredible slew of [01:55] products and amazing initiatives that we [01:57] get behind and support. What are we [01:59] supporting today? June is Bible month at [02:03] Israel 365. And throughout the entire [02:05] month of June, Israel 365 is running the [02:07] Bible month challenge. We have made over [02:10] the course of a a while I participated [02:13] in a few of them. We have made one video [02:15] for each and every book of the Hebrew [02:18] Bible. All 24 books. We've made like an [02:19] introductory video where we have a [02:21] conversation between some scholars [02:23] talking about uh that uh that book. It's [02:27] Jews and Christians teaching together, [02:29] discussing together. It's all available [02:31] free on YouTube every single day. One [02:34] video for every day for 24 days. You can [02:37] start wherever you are. You can watch [02:38] one tonight. They're they're not long [02:40] videos. About uh you know 10 to 20 [02:43] minutes long each one of them. And this [02:45] is the challenge. Watch the video and [02:47] then pick up that book of the Bible and [02:49] read from it. Share the videos with [02:51] people. Like and subscribe to the [02:52] channel so you don't miss a single one. [02:54] This is a a fairly new channel called [02:56] the Israel Bible channel on YouTube. [02:58] It's growing fast, but please go over to [03:01] the Israel Bible on YouTube. just put [03:03] that in uh to your search window there [03:05] on YouTube, the Israel Bible, and you [03:07] will find all these videos. We will also [03:08] put the link to that channel in the [03:12] description of this video as it appears [03:13] on YouTube and in the description of [03:15] this podcast if you're on an audio [03:17] platform. So again, go to the Israel [03:20] Bible on YouTube. 24 videos, one for [03:24] each book of the Tanakh, one for each [03:25] book of the Hebrew Bible to get you into [03:28] the Israel Bible, Hebrew Bible, Bible [03:32] month challenge. I've just said the word [03:34] Bible many, many times, [laughter] [03:37] but it sounds good. And you should go on [03:39] over to YouTube and while you're on [03:40] YouTube, stop by and you can now watch [03:43] Shoulderto-Ser on Rabbi Peso's YouTube [03:46] channel. There's a whole section of [03:48] podcasts, one particular for [03:49] shoulder-to-shoulder, and we would love [03:51] to see you on YouTube as well as on our [03:53] audio platforms, and my family is [03:55] continuing our trek around the United [03:57] States, sharing our Israel story, and [03:59] you can follow us on the reads are here [04:02] on YouTube. So, lots of new stuff [04:03] happening at Shouldertoshoulder. But [04:06] more importantly, Peso, there's lots [04:08] going on in the world right now. Uh, [04:10] recording this on Monday, June, what's [04:13] today's date? June 12th or 13th. [04:16] >> Uh, you're way off, man. [04:18] >> Way off. 14th. [04:19] >> It's the 15th. [04:20] >> The 15th. See, I it it's been a very [04:22] long month last week. So, [laughter] it [04:24] was uh [04:26] >> Yeah. No, [04:27] >> I thought it was funny. [laughter] [04:30] >> So, uh we're recording this on Monday, [04:33] June 15th, and there is a lot going on [04:36] in the world. President Trump had his [04:38] birthday party with a UFC fight out on [04:41] the White House lawn. Uh supposedly [04:44] there is an MOU or a deal or a peace [04:48] deal depending on who you talk to. The [04:51] details are being reported scantily and [04:54] some people have access and some people [04:56] don't. We don't know necessarily what [04:58] the official deals are, but everybody is [05:00] very skeptical that this is a good deal [05:02] at all between the US and Iran. Peso, uh [05:06] give us a short quick synopsis. you did [05:08] a wonderful video on YouTube about this, [05:11] kind of your initial take, but what are [05:13] you feeling right now? What are you [05:14] thinking? And then we have to get to our [05:15] guest. I'm so excited to talk to her [05:18] today. [05:19] >> Well, I'll I'll I'll put it in terms of [05:22] a very interesting uh um exchange, so to [05:26] speak, that took place when this deal [05:27] was first announced. President Trump's [05:29] first tweet about the deal was on June [05:30] 11th a few days ago and he listed all [05:34] the countries that were on board with [05:35] the deal and he listed Saudi Arabia and [05:38] Pakistan and Qatar and Egypt and all [05:39] that and he also listed Israel and he [05:41] said that he spoke to the heads of all [05:42] these countries and everyone's on board. [05:44] However, when Prime Minister Netanyahu's [05:46] office put out their statement about the [05:48] deal, the opening line of the statement [05:50] before he praised President Trump for [05:51] all the wonderful help that he gives [05:53] Israel, you know, very diplomatic, but [05:55] the opening line of the statement was [05:57] Israel is not a party to this under to [06:01] this agreement. And that was very [06:03] important because the Iranians have been [06:04] working very hard for the last couple of [06:06] months to get the Americans to get [06:09] Israel to stop attacking. [06:13] of course has been shelling Israeli [06:14] communities for basically forever and [06:17] Israel has been has been retaliating [06:19] very hard against against and really [06:21] trying to liberate the country of [06:23] Lebanon from the grip of that they've [06:25] been under for some 40 plus years and uh [06:28] the Israeli and domestically in terms of [06:31] Israeli politics the Israeli people have [06:34] no appetite for any more ceasefires [06:36] where we leave our uh our enemies intact [06:40] and in place we have them on the ropes [06:42] we've and and over and over again, [06:44] whether it's in Gaza with Trump's big [06:47] 20point plan that was supposed to disarm [06:50] Hamas and we're going to usher in a new [06:52] a new a new day for Gaza. Gaza is going [06:54] to look like Bocar Florida and it's [06:56] going to be at peace with Israel. [06:57] Everything's going to be great. And [06:59] [snorts] what do we have now? What [07:01] whatever happened to the border peace? [07:02] Whatever happened to the 13 countries [07:03] that were going to come in and disarm [07:05] Hamas? Kamas is still there. Is still [07:07] there in Lebanon. And when Israel gets [07:09] its hands tied, uh that uh that is not [07:12] good for us. It's not good for the [07:14] region. It's not good long term. It just [07:15] kicks the can down the road and it gives [07:17] a win to these jihadists. So um [07:20] ceasefires are not very uh popular in [07:22] Israel. And that's that's not just a [07:24] right-wing thing. It's it's across the [07:26] board consensus in this country. We [07:28] actually want escalation so that we can [07:30] destroy our enemies and be rid of them [07:32] once and for all. So it's very [07:34] controversial in Israel, this deal. And [07:36] of course, we live in the Middle East [07:37] and we know that no, you know, no [07:39] agreements or handshakes or or [07:42] commitments uh from countries like the [07:44] Islamic regime of Iran are really worth [07:46] anything. They're not really worth the [07:47] paper they're written on. So, Israelis [07:49] are very skeptical and a little bit [07:50] anxious. But I think at the same time, [07:53] that's mixed together with the fact that [07:54] we know that we're also stronger than we [07:57] than we were before October 7th. We're [08:00] we are our enemies have been degraded. [08:03] Um, and uh, and the story is not over [08:05] yet, but this deal right now, as much [08:07] as, you know, Trump is talking how it's [08:09] going to bring peace to the world, we're [08:10] very skeptical because it's really just [08:12] an agreement to have a conversation for [08:14] 60 days with the, you know, with the [08:16] Islamic regime. And u, judging by our [08:19] our extensive experience here in the [08:21] Middle East, we're not expecting that to [08:23] go anywhere. So yeah, it's a it's a [08:24] pretty fraught moment, but we're going [08:26] to find out a lot more later in the [08:27] week. The Americans have not released [08:30] the official version of the deal. Uh [08:33] they said they're releasing it on [08:34] Friday. The Iranians have released what [08:37] they claim is the deal, but it's very [08:38] suspicious. It doesn't look at all [08:40] likely that uh that that is actually the [08:43] deal. So, it remains to be seen where [08:46] this is going. As I said, the story is [08:48] not over yet. It's far from over. Uh, [08:50] and if you want to see more, if you want [08:51] to see me ranting passionately about [08:53] this and and really filling in a lot of [08:55] the blanks, go over to my YouTube [08:57] channel. That's uh that's Peswiki or [09:00] Rabbi Pesahi. I don't even know what [09:02] it's called. I'm the only person named [09:03] Pesah Huliki on the planet. So, it's [09:04] easy to find. Just look up Pesiki [09:05] [laughter] [09:06] on YouTube. You'll find my channel. [09:07] That's where this podcast is. You might [09:09] actually be watching this on that [09:10] channel right now, but you'll see it's [09:12] one of my recent videos from a few days [09:13] ago. Um, and uh, yeah, there we are. [09:18] It's super important and I think it's [09:20] important pesock just like we did back [09:23] uh October 7th 8th 9th of 2023 when we [09:27] had episodes to remind all of our [09:30] listeners uh we want to keep you [09:31] informed. We want to be able to bring [09:33] you current information and analysis but [09:36] like all people of faith uh we want to [09:38] continue to pray. We want to continue to [09:40] trust God. Uh we believe that he is on [09:42] the throne and ultimately his will will [09:44] be done. And so want to remind you to [09:46] pray the Psalms if you don't know what [09:48] to pray. I think it's important for us [09:50] uh sometimes when big things like this [09:52] go on and particularly it's it's very [09:54] personal for those of you that are in [09:55] Israel. Uh this is your sons and [09:57] daughters. This is this is not some war [09:59] in theory. Uh and so but want to keep us [10:02] grounded to the scriptures, grounded to [10:04] the God of the Bible as we believe that [10:07] uh he reigns supreme and is uh the king [10:10] of the whole universe as we pray. Amen. [10:11] So, want to remind our listeners of [10:13] that. Uh, Pesak, we have a very [10:16] important conversation to get to and I'm [10:18] excited to hear the full bio of Anila in [10:22] just a moment. So, why don't you bring [10:23] her on to Shouldertoshoulder? [10:26] >> I I'm I'm honored to have Anila Lee on [10:29] the podcast this week and I'm going to [10:31] read her entire bio. It's a little bit [10:32] long, but I was reading it over today [10:33] and thinking, oh, maybe I'll cut it [10:35] down, but I but this is I mean, it just [10:37] reads like a story that I want you all [10:38] to hear. Anila Ali is a Muslim American [10:41] faith leader, educator, and the [10:43] president of the American Muslim and [10:45] Multiffaith Women's Empowerment Council, [10:47] Amwe. A lifelong teacher turned global [10:50] advocate, Ali has devoted her life to [10:53] empowering Muslim women, promoting [10:55] interfaith harmony, and countering [10:57] extremism. Based in Washington DC, she [11:00] works worldwide to advance religious [11:02] freedom, women's leadership, and Muslim [11:05] Jewish collaboration to combat [11:07] anti-semitism and build bridges of [11:09] peace. Ali founded Amwe, now recognized [11:11] as the largest Muslim civil rights and [11:13] interfaith women's movement in the [11:15] United States, partnering with Jewish [11:17] organizations, universities, and [11:20] interfaith coalitions to promote [11:21] dialogue and unity. She has spearheaded [11:24] academic and civic programs with [11:26] University of California campuses, [11:28] Pepperdine University, Cal State [11:30] Fullerton, and collaborated with law [11:32] enforcement and federal agencies to [11:34] design impactful counter radicalization [11:38] and community resilience initiatives. In [11:40] addition to her leadership at Amwe, Ali [11:42] leads Calpac, a nonprofit that champions [11:47] girls education, women's empowerment, [11:50] and STEM/ Steam initiatives while [11:53] partnering with US and Pakistani [11:55] governments to promote inclusion and [11:57] equal opportunity. She also serves on [12:00] the international advisory board of [12:01] Texas A&M University, advising on global [12:05] education and interfaith engagement. Her [12:07] advocacy for minority rights, especially [12:09] against Christian persecution in Muslim [12:11] majority countries, led her to [12:14] co-produce a documentary exposing the [12:17] persecution of Christians in Pakistan. [12:20] Through Amway, she continues to fight [12:22] for religious freedom, human rights, and [12:24] interfaith understanding across South [12:26] Asia. Ali's public service reflects her [12:28] deep commitment to civic leadership. She [12:31] has served on the city of Irvine [12:33] Commission on Children, Youth, and [12:35] Families, and on the Irvine Public [12:37] Schools Foundation, supporting the [12:39] Irvine public education system and [12:42] student welfare. As an author, she has [12:44] written a book on radicalization, Sufi [12:46] poetry, and education for post 911 [12:49] classrooms, blending her experience as a [12:52] teacher and advocate to promote peace, [12:54] identity, and resilience through [12:56] education. A trailblazer among Muslim [12:58] women leaders. You can say that again [13:00] after reading this. Ali is the only [13:02] Muslim woman heading an organization to [13:04] have signed on to the Abraham Accords [13:06] under President Donald Trump's first [13:08] administration, reaffirming her [13:10] unwavering commitment to reconciliation, [13:13] interfaith unity, and peace between the [13:16] Abrahamic faiths. Her distinguished [13:18] contributions have earned her numerous [13:20] national and international honors, [13:22] including the White House Presidential [13:24] Award for Volunteerism, multiple US [13:26] Senate and Congressional Awards, and [13:28] commendations from federal and local law [13:30] enforcement agencies. Recently, she [13:33] received the White Rose Society Award [13:36] and the International Religious Freedom [13:38] Roundtable Builders Award for her [13:39] leadership in advancing religious [13:41] freedom and interfaith harmony. Despite [13:44] facing threats from the Iranian regime [13:47] and kamas, Anila Ali remains undeterred [13:51] in her mission to build bridges between [13:53] communities and advance the vision of [13:55] the Abraham Accords across Muslim [13:56] countries. One of her most historic [13:58] achievements was her successful post 911 [14:02] advocacy that led to 6 million Muslims [14:05] and others being removed from federal [14:08] profiling lists. Her acclaimed [14:09] documentary Americans on Hold was [14:12] instrumental in this reform and [14:13] contributed to the creation of trusted [14:16] traveler programs such as Global Entry. [14:18] Oh, Global Entry. Yeah, I'm a Global [14:20] Entry member. Today, Anila Ali continues [14:23] to live her faith through action [14:24] promoting peace, pluralism, and social [14:26] cohesion, proving that courage, [14:28] compassion, and conviction can can [14:30] illuminate the path forward toward a [14:33] more tolerant and a united world. That [14:36] is so inspiring. Anil Ali, welcome to [14:38] the Shouldertoshoulder podcast. [14:42] >> Thank you so much, uh, Rabbi and Pastor. [14:45] I feel very honored that you read that [14:47] entire bio. I wanted you to just read [14:50] like just a [laughter] paragraph of it, [14:52] but thank you so much. [14:55] >> I don't usually read a full bio like [14:56] that. I don't usually read a full bio [14:58] like that, but I just I was just I was [14:59] looking at everything you you've [15:01] accomplished and everything that you're [15:02] doing and I found it so inspiring and it [15:04] it really, you know, is why, you know, [15:07] we've been communicating now for about a [15:08] month trying to set this up, trying to [15:10] get you on the podcast. And I guess the [15:13] first, you know, the first question that [15:14] I'd like to, you know, throw at you is, [15:18] you know, you you call yourself a um a a [15:22] a a Muslim Zionist. You've said that [15:25] Zionism is in the Quran and uh this is [15:29] uh you know this is uh this is obviously [15:33] not the way most people think about [15:35] Islam and about Israel and about [15:36] Zionism. This is a little bit of a of a [15:38] surprising term. So could you please [15:42] talk about that? Talk about it from the [15:44] Islamic perspective, from the Quranic [15:46] perspective. [15:48] You've said that again Zionism is in the [15:49] Quran. How do you counter the [15:52] theological counterarguments that are [15:54] made by what are unfortunately more [15:57] mainstream Islamist scholars? And do you [15:59] think that this argument can actually [16:01] move Muslims or are you just preaching [16:03] to a very small choir? [16:08] >> Um you've asked me such an important [16:10] question um and it has [clears throat] [16:14] never been a question. I grew up uh in a [16:17] family where there were scholars on [16:19] Islam. Uh there were scholars on Islam [16:23] and yet they knew Christianity, Judaism, [16:27] Hinduism because they lived in India. [16:29] They were enlightened Muslim moderates [16:32] and they were leaders of the whole [16:33] Pakistan movement. So my father he wrote [16:37] a book on the prophet of Islam and he [16:39] always used to say the prophet relied on [16:42] the Christians and then the Jews [16:44] otherwise there would be no Islam. He [16:47] wrote that book where he you know he [16:50] claims like prophet Muhammad was the [16:52] first interfaith leader in Islam because [16:54] that's where he sent the Muslims. He [16:56] sent the Muslims to the Christian when [16:58] he was being persecuted to Najashi, the [17:01] king uh uh the Assyrian king. And then [17:06] the second time that he was being [17:07] persecuted and you know it was a a very [17:11] very serious persecution. He he himself [17:15] went to Medina where there were Jewish [17:18] tribes and he learned from them. He [17:20] lived with them. There were Christian [17:21] tribes there. They're Jews. These are uh [17:25] stories about our prophet and I would [17:27] say these are uh things that we as [17:30] Muslims learned in in in that era. I I [17:34] I'm very fortunate uh rabbi and pastor [17:36] that I was born into this very [17:38] enlightened family. My grandmother, [17:41] she's written 14 books, God bless her in [17:44] the heavens. Amen. And she wrote 14 [17:47] books on women in Islam. So for me the [17:50] Islam that I was born into South Asia it [17:54] was an interfaith Islam. It was an [17:56] Abrahamic version that we are you know [18:00] Judaism being Islam kind of 3.0 and we [18:04] did not see Islam the way people are [18:07] seeing Islam the versions that you hear [18:10] about. I didn't grow up with that. Also [18:13] my grandmother [18:15] you know for us Jesus was our prophet. [18:18] We revered him and there was no question [18:20] of being the the Christian persecution [18:23] you hear about. We did not grow up [18:26] seeing it because I know my grandmother [18:28] and my father both uh wrote and talked [18:32] extensively about prophet Jesus pe pe pe [18:35] pe pe pe pe pe pe pe pe pe pe pe pe pe [18:35] pe pe pe pe peace be upon him that he [18:37] was one of our prophets and then to go [18:39] back to the judeo line of prophets I [18:44] know about all of them growing up [18:46] because my grandmother wrote about them [18:48] my father wrote about them and that's [18:50] what we saw and heard in the books and [18:53] then came political Islam. Uh the whole [18:56] region where I come from, it was [18:59] radicalized by by the time you know the [19:02] the Wahhabi dollars were coming into the [19:05] mosques there and the whole liberal uh [19:08] very enlightened Sufi Hanafi version of [19:11] Islam was being overtaken by the [19:13] Wahhabis. Now as you know a lot of these [19:17] areas there were they were the jihadi [19:19] fighters who went into Afghanistan and [19:22] fought but there was money coming in to [19:26] convert those hanafi into salafies which [19:29] is the radical puritanical version of [19:32] Islam and today what you see is a growth [19:36] of that political movement all over the [19:38] world but for me it was uh eyeopening uh [19:44] Because I had not I went to a Catholic [19:47] school, pastor. I went to a Catholic [19:50] school and I used to come back singing [19:52] hymns that my nuns taught us to sing. We [19:55] had choir and we sang and we came back [19:59] and I would be singing things which you [20:01] know which now today you could even call [20:05] blasphemous. [20:07] Uh but my parents and my grandparents [20:10] they did not see that as a you know as [20:13] anything that is contrary to what we [20:15] believe in because Islam to me was [20:18] taught that it is a continuation of the [20:20] Abrahamic religions that the Christians [20:23] have their book uh Torah the Jewish [20:26] people have Torah and the Psalms the [20:29] Zabur it was it was important for us to [20:32] actually read these. So when I read the [20:35] Bible, it it wasn't like I was going to [20:38] convert to, you know, Christianity or if [20:40] I read the Torah and the Talmud and even [20:44] the Vedas. My my parents did not think [20:47] that I'm going to convert to any of [20:49] these religions, they saw me as doing [20:51] what is in the Quran. Uh, one of the my [20:54] favorite verses in the Quran which sort [20:56] of is the foundation of a lot of my work [20:58] after 9/11 is that God says to Muslims [21:03] that I could have created you all the [21:05] same but I created you into different [21:07] nations and different tribes so that you [21:10] may get to know each other. So this [21:12] replacement theory and a conversion of [21:15] fasttrack Muslim everybody convert them [21:17] to Islam. I did not see that nor did the [21:20] enlightened moderates scholars that I [21:23] saw and I learned from do that. I saw [21:27] that fasttracked in Saudi Arabia. I saw [21:30] that when I came to America escaping [21:33] that you know the the radicalization and [21:36] the um extremism of Islam that I was [21:39] hearing in the 1990s when I was living [21:42] in Saudi Arabia after Pakistan. Um, and [21:45] that's where I heard that as a Muslim, [21:48] you have to go, if you're going to the [21:49] west, you have to convert people to [21:51] Islam. And I said, "No, no, no, no, no. [21:53] That's not what I know of Islam. This is [21:56] the Quran. This is what the God what God [21:58] said. This is what the prophet peace be [22:00] upon him said." He said, "I perfected [22:02] this religion. That's it. Now live and [22:04] be a good human being." this this uh you [22:06] know the da which you hear today and you [22:09] see happening in our country here in [22:11] America very fast pace is there is no if [22:14] you're not a Muslim you're not going we [22:17] didn't grow up hearing that so I hope I [22:19] in a in a way I've answered your [22:21] question that Islam now is politicized [22:24] and what you hear is the Muslim [22:26] Brotherhood version of it the Salafi [22:28] version of it which is uh which is [22:31] chaotic and toxic for all of us our [22:34] world. [22:36] >> So h how does the Zionism piece fit into [22:40] that? Is that coming from a particular [22:42] verse in the Quran? Is that coming from [22:45] a non-politicized version of Islam? Uh [22:49] help me understand the right of the [22:51] Jewish people to be in their homeland [22:53] from a Muslim perspective. [22:56] >> Yes. So in the Quran, God states clearly [22:59] that he says to Moses, [23:02] I this is your land. Take your people [23:06] and reside therein forever. This is [23:09] straight from the Quran. Also in the [23:11] Quran, um verse 463 and 1755 [23:18] um God says, "I have given uh David the [23:22] Zabore." Now where did Dawa why are [23:25] Muslims calling themselves Dud which is [23:28] David? Because they're naming themselves [23:30] after [23:32] prophet David peace be upon him from the [23:34] Quran. And where did he live? He did not [23:37] live in Palestine. He lived in Israel, [23:40] the land of God's chosen people. Um, in [23:45] the Quran 143 times you hear you see the [23:49] word Israel, the children of Israel, the [23:52] people of Israel, the land of Israel, [23:55] there is no mention of Palestine. Never [23:58] heard of it. And all of a sudden, you [24:00] know, you come, I came to America and I [24:03] started hearing these different versions [24:05] of the Quran. The Quran is a Zionist [24:08] document and uh all of the stories in [24:11] fact the story of uh prophet Abraham [24:14] it's taken from the Bible. Uh the [24:17] prophet uh prophet the story of prophet [24:20] David taken from the Bible. There might [24:22] be some differences but even the virgin [24:26] Mary story of Mariam taken there's a [24:30] whole chapter. So for me as a Muslim [24:33] growing up and you know how when we are [24:35] young we're thinking like okay so why [24:37] are there so many poor people and why is [24:39] there so much suffering is there a god I [24:42] turned to these biblical uh to the books [24:45] that God had sent. I looked at the Quran [24:48] and I said okay there's God and there's [24:50] you know this is how you explain [24:52] suffering. This is how you explain [24:54] differences of of uh opinions and the [24:57] diversity of opinion. It was much more [25:00] tolerated before. There was a lot more [25:03] religious tolerance at that time in my [25:06] community than I see now. Even though we [25:08] have scholars, there's no shortage of [25:10] scholars, but the scholars are all [25:12] scared of coming out and telling the [25:15] truth. So, they'll write occasionally, [25:17] but Zionism is in the Quran through and [25:20] through. There is nothing else. For me, [25:23] I was always uh my my grandmother was a [25:26] big advocate of, you know, the uh Jewish [25:29] people are the chosen people. Allah [25:31] loved them. Allah had, you know, Allah [25:34] uh and then there's a verse in the Quran [25:36] which where Allah says to Muslims that [25:39] yes, I gave them everything. I gave them [25:41] the blessed land. And you know then the [25:45] story of Moses continues where people [25:47] did not um you know they started [25:49] worshiping the cow and it's called the [25:51] verse of the cow. Nowhere in the Quran [25:55] uh does it ever say that it was given to [25:58] anybody else. All of these stories are [26:01] validated in the Quran. And we cannot be [26:04] Muslims unless we believe in all of the [26:07] books that God has sent, all of the [26:09] prophets that God has sent. And the [26:12] Quran says there are some 124,000 [26:15] prophets that God has sent. So you tell [26:18] me how is how can we say anything else? [26:24] We are we are Muslims are Zionists but [26:27] politically we have been told that [26:29] Zionism is a bad word. Well, it's not [26:32] bad if you're a Muslim. [26:34] >> Yeah. So Anila, you know, this is very [26:37] uh out of the box. I mean, [26:39] unfortunately, unfortunately, you know, [26:42] because the way we think about Islam, [26:43] the way we're told about Islam and the [26:45] majority that we hear is is much more [26:48] hostile to Israel. And as part of your [26:51] work to bring this message to more [26:53] Muslims, I understand that you led a [26:55] delegation of Muslim leaders to Israel [26:59] uh not so long ago. Uh I think it was [27:01] last year. Am I if I'm correct, could [27:03] you talk about that trip and what they [27:05] experienced and maybe what you know what [27:08] were some of the reactions you got? What [27:09] what impact you saw this having? But [27:12] tell us about what this trip was. [27:16] It's every time we have gone to Israel, [27:18] we've taken a group of people and my [27:20] first trip was to take my people where [27:22] of of my birth country Pakistan and I [27:26] took a Jewish man from Pakistan official [27:29] because he had been telling me as you [27:31] know I've been doing work on on the [27:33] minorities helping the Christian [27:35] community the Hindu community in [27:37] Pakistan and advocating for them. So he [27:40] was Jewish and he found me online and he [27:42] said you must take me. This was 2022. [27:45] So I said one day inshallah I'll take [27:47] you. And the day came and I said [27:50] official do you want to go to your holy [27:52] land? And he was very happy. He got [27:54] permission from the government and I [27:57] took another journalist and the rest of [27:58] the people were Muslim leaders from [28:00] America. [28:02] And that turned out to be a [28:04] groundbreaking trip. But the first thing [28:07] that all of them said was the signs are [28:11] in Arabic. They're in English. They're [28:13] in Hebrew. They're all and they're [28:15] Muslims here. And they were not white [28:17] Muslims. So they were saying they were [28:20] Muslims with beards and women with [28:22] hijab. And they actually wanted to check [28:25] if they are or not. So they lined up at [28:28] the immigration counter to make sure [28:30] that they talked to them and ask them [28:32] what their names were. But all of their [28:35] biases were challenged when they went [28:37] there. And one of the things the first [28:40] group discovered was they went to Alaka, [28:43] which is the mosque compound, and they [28:45] said, "There is no Israeli police there. [28:48] They're all W Jordanians." [28:51] And um and I said, "Yes." So one of the [28:54] journalists started who went with me, [28:56] who wasn't going to go public, he went [28:59] live and he said, "Look, we've been lied [29:01] to. We've been told that the Israelis [29:04] have taken over mazjid a and here there [29:06] are there are no Israelis. In fact, the [29:08] Jewish people who are friends are [29:10] waiting outside because they cannot go [29:12] to their holiest place which is the Dome [29:14] of the Rock and the you know uh the that [29:18] the dome that area and when this truth [29:21] got out a lot of them were like we [29:24] didn't know and they were all people who [29:26] had read the Quran they were enlightened [29:29] moderates and they knew the stories so [29:32] they wanted to go to the room the holy [29:35] uh the the last supper room they wanted [29:37] to go to church of the holy supplr. They [29:40] said that's where Califf Omar said I'm [29:42] not going to pray outside when he [29:45] conquered Jerusalem. He said I won't [29:47] pray outside to the priests there [29:49] because if I pray I fear the Muslims [29:52] might pray. Jerusalem is for all of us [29:55] to share. And if you remember Salahin [29:58] also when he conquered it he said I will [30:01] not enter until the Jews are allowed to [30:03] come. I will not be here. He wrote it in [30:06] his in his uh covenant his agreement. We [30:11] have ample examples in Islamic history [30:14] uh in a in our you know collaborative [30:17] Abrahamic history of Muslims coexisting [30:20] and accepting the Jews as the elder [30:23] brother and then the Christians. But [30:26] unfortunately political Islam has erased [30:29] all of that. last um uh December, we [30:32] took two groups of Muslims to Israel. [30:36] And one of the things the first thing [30:39] they said again was the same thing that [30:42] you know when we go there we realize oh [30:45] my god like this is the land of the [30:47] prophets that we all come from. We [30:49] believe in these prophets and without [30:51] believing in prophet Abraham, prophet [30:54] Daud, prophet Jesus, we cannot be [30:56] Muslims. They realized that and for them [30:59] it was um the December group rabbi that [31:01] I took they were journalists and and [31:04] very devout Muslims. So they it was [31:06] Hanukkah. We just celebrated Hanukkah [31:09] and we learned about Judaism. We went [31:11] into some of the oldest synagogues we [31:14] read and then these people for them they [31:16] were reading the Talmud for the first [31:18] time and they were fascinated to see it [31:21] as everything is what we believe in. you [31:24] know there's everything seems like yeah [31:26] we come from the same lineage then we [31:29] went then it was uh you know it was [31:31] prophet Jesus's birthday and we were [31:34] just half an hour from from Bethlehem [31:36] and and so they said we're going to go [31:40] and for me it was delightful to see my [31:43] Muslim brothers and sisters coming back [31:46] to the teachings of real Islam of [31:49] coexistence and we all went we went to [31:53] the place the church uh and you know you [31:56] duck and everyone's ducking with [31:58] reverence. We're taking pictures with [32:00] our Christian brothers and sisters. [32:01] People are asking us, "You're Muslims?" [32:03] There weren't that many visitors as you [32:05] know. It was quite deserted. Um the [32:09] atmosphere was very tense. We sat and we [32:11] talked to the Christian uh uh Christian [32:14] uh people there who were telling us [32:16] about their difficulties and we were [32:19] able to connect all the dots the dots [32:21] that exist in the Quran connecting it [32:23] way back to Judaism 3,000 years ago and [32:27] to this all these stories that we have [32:29] grown up with today are denied uh there [32:33] is a movement to even erase those [32:36] stories in the history. Sadly, I saw [32:39] this poster once uh very recently I was [32:42] traveling to Pakistan and they instead [32:45] of writing, you know, Judea, uh [32:48] Sumeriia, of course, they don't know [32:49] those terms yet, but it was land of [32:52] Israel. They replaced it with Palestine, [32:55] a map. Can you imagine Jesus being born [32:58] in in uh uh in in in [33:02] Mo and uh uh David and all of these [33:05] prophets being born in Palestine. [33:08] They're replacing all of these they're [33:10] replacing history. And so it was very [33:13] very uh you know uh uh concerning to me. [33:17] I wrote to those people which is what I [33:19] do say you can't change Quran. You are [33:22] now changing the word of God. So are you [33:24] being a Muslim? Because God has already [33:27] said Dawud was born in the land of [33:29] Israel. You can't change that. So there [33:32] is so much going on that has has changed [33:36] the way Muslims believe. You know, they [33:38] also have to revert back to reading. [33:41] They have to read the Bible. They have [33:43] to read the Torah. They have to read all [33:45] of these books to know where they come [33:46] from the Psalms to know Prophet uh [33:49] David. The group that went was [33:52] fascinated to go to, you know, they call [33:54] themselves Duda. They named themselves [33:57] after Dao, Da, after Issa, after Musa, [34:00] but they don't even know the great [34:02] prophets and and how they contribute to [34:06] eventually our Judeo-Christian Islamic [34:09] history as well. [34:10] uh they went to uh prophet David uh [34:14] peace be upon him his u mole and on one [34:17] side there's Quran and on the other side [34:20] there's recitation of Torah they were [34:22] crying I saw these men you know who are [34:26] devout Muslim believers saying oh my god [34:28] we didn't know about this we didn't know [34:30] about this so I think there's been so [34:32] much disinformation and it continues [34:36] through social media especially that [34:38] people are not uh we need to revert back [34:41] to our texts and yes there are [34:44] differences in all of our texts but [34:46] there's never been a time where we can't [34:48] come together and say oh this is what we [34:50] share in common let's learn about each [34:53] other which is what Quran and God says [34:56] clearly explicitly in the Quran [35:03] >> so I ask because you're coming you're [35:07] coming up against the tide ides of [35:10] political Islam of you mentioned the Tik [35:13] Tok algorithm, social media, you're [35:16] you're fighting a wave of [35:20] probably a very difficult thing to come [35:22] against. What sort of backlash are you [35:24] facing? Uh Peso mentioned a little bit [35:26] in your bio, but how has that been for [35:29] you? and even I would imagine that it's [35:31] been heightened post October 7th for you [35:34] some of the backlash and push back uh [35:37] against you and and what you're uh [35:39] stating to us today. How has that been [35:41] for you? [35:43] >> Um pastor, you can imagine that I travel [35:47] to countries where Pakistan blasphemy is [35:49] a huge problem where I've seen my own [35:52] Christian brothers and sisters, you [35:54] know, they're the ones who educated me. [35:56] So I owe a debt of gratitude and so do [35:59] majority of the Muslims that are here [36:00] from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. We all [36:03] went to Catholic schools [clears throat] [36:05] and we are afraid to even say don't burn [36:08] the Bible. It is a it's our book. It's [36:11] God's book. But they do that. And so for [36:14] me uh this is I saw my father write the [36:19] laws to protect you know the Sikhs and [36:21] the Christians and the Hindus in [36:22] Pakistan. And you know I I I remember I [36:26] was a little girl my my father was you [36:29] know devouted Muslim who was fighting [36:32] for minis like my grandmother. And so [36:35] for me it was like a part of my DNA to [36:37] stand up and do that. Once I did that I [36:40] was already putting my life at risk. So [36:43] when I took a delegation after October [36:46] 7th, of course, when I spoke at March [36:48] for Israel rally, the whole Muslim world [36:52] kind of just started sending me the most [36:56] hateful messages. How could you sign [36:59] stand up for the Zionist state? Okay, [37:02] I'm a Muslim and that is why I do it. [37:05] But my children were attacked. my [37:09] brothers, my sisters living in different [37:11] Muslim countries, um you know, UAE, uh I [37:15] I got really vicious, hateful attacks. [37:18] And that's the day I said, I'm never [37:20] going to read the messages. I'm just not [37:22] going to look at my social media. And I, [37:25] you know, I sat down and I I my parents [37:28] are up in the heavens and my [37:30] grandparents and I said, "This was my [37:32] speech. Ya Allah, [37:34] what did I say? I hope I have not [37:36] offended anyone because I spoke the [37:39] truth. I read my speech again and I said [37:41] there's nothing I regret. I said [37:43] everything that my religion teaches me. [37:46] And so for those that are creating the [37:49] chaos and hating on a Muslim woman [37:51] because I have the courage to stand with [37:54] my Abrahamic brothers and sisters, then [37:57] you know let them be the haters. Let me [38:00] continue my my work. And I felt like God [38:02] had given me this podium and this next [38:06] era of my life because I retired as a [38:08] teacher just at that time. And I said [38:11] maybe God has given me this podium, this [38:14] voice to spread love, peace, [38:17] reconciliation [38:19] and maybe I can do it. I am a woman. I'm [38:22] a grandmother. I love America. Uh and I [38:25] I love all of these rel I love humanity. [38:29] So perhaps through me God wants to send [38:32] a message and that gave me strength to [38:37] to say you know I uh I I thought of my [38:40] parents they said oh your parents they [38:43] are going to be you know you have put [38:45] them to shame in their graves your [38:48] grandparents and I remember my [38:50] grandfather I remember my father [38:53] standing for the Christians in Pakistan [38:56] speaking on on the birthday of of uh [38:58] prophet Prophet Mo uh Jesus in Pakistan, [39:01] the Christians loved him. And in the [39:03] same way, my grandmother telling me so [39:06] many great things about Prophet Abraham [39:08] and saying we follow our patriarch and [39:11] look how we pray in our prayers. We're [39:14] asking God to bless us just like he [39:16] blesses he blessed the the children of [39:19] Abraham and the family of Abraham. So if [39:22] we are blessing prophet Abraham and his [39:24] family in our prayers, how can I not do [39:27] that as a Muslim and yes it life became [39:31] very difficult and to to one day you [39:34] know have FBI come in and say Anila here [39:37] it is read your this is your destiny and [39:41] this is where you have reached and it [39:43] said you are on the IRGC's list [39:47] by that time [sighs and gasps] [39:49] a lot of my family and friends, uh, [39:52] donors, people who supported me, my [39:54] board members, my close, close family. [39:58] Um, they had just turned their faces [40:01] away from me. And I said, you know what? [40:05] I I have read the stories of the [40:07] prophets. I have read that they also had [40:12] problematic they had thorns in the way. [40:15] You know, pieces never raise easy. It's [40:17] a very easy to lie, to do bad things, to [40:20] create chaos, but it is very hard, very [40:24] difficult to walk in the path of good [40:27] people. And that's the verse of the [40:29] Quran that I read in my prayers. [40:31] Alhamdulillah, God, take me on the path [40:33] of those who have gone in the right [40:35] direction, you know, and maybe um good [40:40] times will come. Maybe my family will [40:42] come back. And yes, many of them have [40:45] come back and they're looking at things [40:47] differently and many haven't. And I say, [40:50] you know, that's that's okay because [40:52] I'm, [40:54] you know, I live I I remember Psalms 129 [40:59] that it wasn't easy, right? That um they [41:03] don't the cha the people who create [41:06] chaos, they don't prevail. Prophet David [41:09] said that, Duisam said that. And so many [41:12] times prophet Muhammad peace be upon him [41:14] have said that and I think what is [41:16] happening today I see in my own mosques [41:20] I've heard them since 9/11 they don't [41:22] take us on the path of God our children [41:26] are not going to the mosque where [41:27] they're coming out and saying I want to [41:30] take care of my neighbor I want to take [41:32] care of the the you know um the dogs and [41:36] the cats in my neighborhood who may need [41:39] something. They don't care about God's [41:41] creatures. What they care about is [41:43] creating hatred, uh, chaos, the cancer [41:47] of anti-semitism. [41:48] And I know that this cancer is right now [41:51] of anti-semitism. But I have seen seen [41:55] it when I went to Jonawa in Pakistan. [41:58] The churches were burnt, Bibles were [42:01] burnt. I know how dangerous it is. So [42:04] how can I as a Muslim be quiet? uh [42:07] children go to the mosque instead of [42:09] worshiping God they come out saying free [42:11] free Palestine you know uh river to sea [42:15] that means like the annihilation of the [42:17] entire Jewish race and then when you [42:20] tell them they say oh they deserve it [42:22] that's that's not Islam and that's why I [42:24] have to speak as a grandmother [42:30] >> and you know you're touching on on the [42:34] you know first of all your courage is [42:36] incredible and it's inspiring. Um, and [42:40] the situation you're describing with [42:42] what's going on in the mosques leads me [42:43] to a question where I want to get down [42:45] to, you know, rather than talk about [42:47] what we hope for and what the truth [42:50] really is, I want to talk about what the [42:51] reality is on the ground now in America [42:54] because you have the establishment [42:56] organizations in the Muslim community [42:58] like the Council for uh, American [43:00] Islamic Relations Care and some of the [43:02] other mainstream organizations. We know [43:04] from a lot of legal cases that have [43:07] happened and and and we see we see what [43:09] their political activity is that they're [43:11] more aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood [43:13] ideology. They're more aligned with the [43:16] dangerous ideologies and a lot of the [43:18] leadership of the mosques and the and [43:19] the Muslim schools in America are also [43:23] aligned with with the Muslim Brotherhood [43:25] ideology. uh what is the lay of the land [43:29] in terms of moderate Islam as you're [43:32] describing that you aspire to the [43:35] because the the communal institutions at [43:37] least the public-f facing leadership of [43:40] the Muslim community in America is not [43:43] on the same page as you. Is there any [43:46] kind of organized community or mosques [43:48] of moderate Muslims? Is it something [43:51] that's growing? What is the lay of the [43:53] land in the Muslim community? uh even if [43:57] it means just you know private people [43:59] who are unhappy like what is the lay of [44:02] the land if if someone's living in the [44:03] Muslim community I'm not asking you for [44:06] percentages but what does it look like [44:07] from the inside [44:10] >> first of all I want to say that it's [44:12] very alarming it's very alarming that [44:15] young people are listening to the kind [44:17] of rhetoric that is going on in the [44:19] mosque [44:21] uh I go there um sometimes when my [44:24] Jewish brothers and sisters would invite [44:26] me to New Jersey. I would go there and I [44:29] would listen to it and I know that I [44:32] would be horrified. In fact, to after [44:35] October 7, especially when I went to [44:37] these mosques, they were calling openly [44:39] for the annihilation that if you are a [44:41] Muslim, you need to go out there and [44:44] kill the Yahood. I mean, how did we get [44:48] from having differences of opinion on on [44:51] geopolitics to saying kill your brothers [44:54] and sisters in in the name of Islam? But [44:58] you and I have seen that in Hamas. We've [45:00] seen that in his Bullah and all of these [45:02] ideologies, ISIS, Al-Qaeda. I I grew up [45:06] listening to al-Qaeda, you know, that [45:08] was after 9/11, before 9/11. They were a [45:11] menace to that whole South Asian region. [45:14] Um but in America it I'm afraid that [45:19] what has happened to the Muslims in the [45:22] UK may happen or may have also started [45:25] happening to the Muslims in America and [45:30] my organization is one small [45:32] organization and because of our faith I [45:36] believe that we have survived but every [45:39] time a Muslim moderate has spoken since [45:42] 9/11 and this This is my own life [45:45] experience. I'm telling you that [45:47] organizations like care, ISNA, IKNA, [45:50] Shura Council and all of these [45:54] individuals also funding these [45:56] organizations who have a grievance with [45:59] the Jewish people who don't have a a [46:03] positive opinion of the Christians who [46:05] believe in yes, Islam should prevail. [46:08] They're funding these organizations. [46:10] And even though after 9/11 we stopped [46:13] the funding coming in directly from from [46:17] uh to moss from many you know from Saudi [46:19] Arabia from Kuwait but we did not look [46:22] at the nonprofits. We did not look at [46:25] the multiple I would say probably now [46:28] thousands of organizations that are [46:30] getting funds and that built the whole [46:34] uh the political action committees that [46:36] were funding directly the Democratic [46:38] party. you know they were from I I don't [46:42] want to name these organizations but you [46:44] know the of course it care was not the [46:47] only one Muslim public affairs council [46:50] believe the same way they are all one [46:53] and the same they wear different clothes [46:55] they wear they have different faces but [46:58] their ideologies are the same and unless [47:00] the United States government looks into [47:03] all of these nonprofits and sees where [47:07] are being are they are they First of [47:09] all, are they abiding by their 501c3 [47:12] status? You know, if you are a Muslim [47:15] civil rights organization, you need to [47:18] talk about civil rights. Why are you [47:20] talking about Gaza? How you are [47:23] violating your 501c3 status? But we're [47:28] not looking at that. or perhaps we are. [47:30] But that's what we need to do with all [47:32] of these all of these nonprofits that [47:35] are getting money from the United States [47:37] governments from the local governments. [47:39] Local governments are giving money to [47:41] the local mosques. What are the they [47:43] feeding their people? Majority of them [47:45] are feeding hate. And so why are you uh [47:49] funding hate? We have to stop that. And [47:53] also [47:54] I have always been a believer of who [47:58] what who is who's I've been to all of [48:00] the churches in my neighborhood and we [48:03] have so many of them because I want to [48:05] see who my neighbors are. Tell them that [48:06] I'm a Muslim. I live here but I'm an [48:08] American and I'm here to to to you know [48:12] be there for you. We need to do that on [48:15] our Abrahamic side as well. go to all of [48:18] these uh neighborhood mosques and say [48:21] we're here because we're not going there [48:24] because we're not letting they're not [48:26] even having interfaith ifars anymore [48:28] because they don't want the Jews who are [48:31] Zionists. They only want the Jews who [48:33] hate Israel to come who and and then it [48:37] becomes political and often I have gone [48:41] when we had an ifar two years ago we [48:44] convinced one of our brothers he was a [48:46] imam for he was a South Asian so he's [48:49] not indoctrinated in his DNA to hate the [48:52] Jewish people so we said brother you [48:55] have to come he came in he sat down and [48:58] then he led the prayers do you know what [49:01] these organiz organizations did Churra [49:03] Council Care. They made him, you know, [49:06] um give a statement against me that I [49:10] forced him to come. Well, I said, "Okay, [49:12] I'm I'm I like the fact that I'm very [49:14] empowered that I can force an imam to [49:16] come and lead the prayers." You know, if [49:19] only I could do that, I would. But a [49:21] woman is not allowed to lead the [49:22] prayers. But, you know, this is this is [49:25] how they silence everyone. Also, the [49:30] boards that are running these [49:32] nonprofits, they also have rules. They [49:35] have to abide by the local rules. They [49:37] are misogynistic men running these [49:39] boards. So many times we would send our [49:41] women uh we'd get them elected to the [49:44] boards, the San Diego Mask board. The [49:47] first woman we got elected, she was one [49:50] of our our board members. After 6 [49:52] months, they harassed her so much. She [49:55] said, "I'm making my own nonprofit. I [49:57] cannot do this. The same thing to happen [49:59] to another Muslim woman we put on the [50:01] board. Why? Because these women are not [50:04] following towing their lines. They have [50:06] diversity of opinion and they say, you [50:09] know, is we want peace. We want [50:12] Palestinians to make peace with [50:14] Israelis. We we don't want them to live [50:16] in this perpetual grievance because we [50:18] as moderate majority of the Muslims in [50:21] America, South Asians, India, Pakistan, [50:24] we want to make friends. We love that [50:25] President Trump put us together and at [50:27] least we had peace. Hopefully it'll turn [50:30] into long-lasting peace. Pakistan, [50:32] Bangladesh, we went to war. [50:34] >> So Anil, are there mosques and schools [50:36] that are moderate? Are there communities [50:38] that are moderate? [50:41] >> There are very few. And the ones who [50:43] come out, you'll see them with us. We [50:45] have a conference on anti-semitism and [50:47] hate. These are the voices that we are [50:50] empowering. They saw us after October [50:53] October 7th that we didn't get silenced. [50:56] They believe in what we believe in and [50:59] they uh you know we've been helping them [51:01] form their own organizations empowering [51:04] them. But the kind the tsunami of hatred [51:07] that they also get along with us even [51:10] today even today is just unbelievable. [51:15] There are so many of the journalists who [51:17] went with us they lost their jobs. [51:18] They're writing for Times of Israel [51:20] because they cannot find a job in [51:22] liberal media which they were part of [51:25] and then they are now just sitting [51:27] there. They believe in this. So they a [51:30] lot of them went to Israel with us in [51:31] December. They are sharing their [51:33] stories, their testimonials. Uh my own [51:36] husband you know he he just one day [51:39] after October 7th he said this is a you [51:42] know travesty. [51:44] I will not be. He just stopped. He [51:47] resigned from his job for he was working [51:49] for a Pakistani media uh organization, [51:52] one of the top ones. And he said, I I [51:55] cannot write this anymore. I I have to [51:58] tell the truth. He just left them. So [52:00] many many journalists, in fact, there's [52:02] a woman who's coming. She's an amazing [52:04] journalist. She'll be there at our [52:06] conference. She she's built she and her [52:09] colleague, they've built an Muslim [52:11] women's organization in Texas. But do [52:13] they get mainstream Muslim support? No. [52:17] They also get ostracized. And many of [52:20] them are not anti-Semitic. Many of them [52:23] don't really care about this Israeli [52:24] Palestine. But they have been told in [52:27] the mosque that if you're a Muslim, then [52:29] you have to stand on the side of the [52:32] Hamas pro- Hamas lobby. And um and so [52:36] they are they are quiet. The half the [52:39] board that I had that resigned, they [52:41] didn't resign. uh because they were [52:43] anti-Semitic, they may, you know, be [52:47] sometimes borderline, but we were [52:49] training them to come on our side, the [52:52] good side. They resigned because they [52:54] they were told when they went to the [52:56] mosque, you can't enter. You have to [52:58] resign from Am you have to you have to, [53:01] you know, uh condemn Anila. Only then [53:04] will you be allowed to enter. And this [53:07] kind of Hamas, this is Hamas behavior in [53:09] action in America by the Muslim leaders [53:12] that they cannot stand. We did a [53:14] breaking bread event in California. [53:16] Rabbi imam and uh you know a priest got [53:19] together. We all talked about uh [53:22] geopolitics and how we can put all of [53:25] that aside and come together as people [53:27] of faith. And who condemned it? K Shura [53:31] Council almost every mosque in [53:34] California condemned it. And so you tell [53:37] me why are they doing that? Because the [53:39] money coming in to their mosque needs to [53:41] be investigated. Who's sitting on the [53:44] boards for thousands of years literally [53:46] that needs to be that's against all [53:48] nonprofit rules. You have to disclose [53:51] all of that. And if you're going against [53:53] civil rights, you're not doing civil [53:55] rights and you're talking about politics [53:57] and talking about Palestinian rights, [54:00] then you are not going according to your [54:02] not following your mission. So you need [54:04] to be investigated. But unfortunately, [54:07] we're not doing enough of that. Many [54:09] imams who are on the moderate side are [54:11] being paid by those who are not. So they [54:15] tell me, "Sister, we believe in what [54:16] you're saying. We believe in what you're [54:18] saying, but we cannot because our visa [54:22] and our boss." Many imams are also held [54:25] hostage because of their visas. They [54:27] they stay in the mosque. They live there [54:30] in a room with their families and and [54:32] the visas and everything is controlled [54:35] by the person you know the director or [54:38] the funer and that's that's has to be [54:41] investigated all of these and I say you [54:43] know investigate us too we are a [54:44] nonprofit everything that I do has to [54:47] align with my mission statement [54:50] but not them [54:54] >> well as Peso said your courage is [54:57] inspiring we're coming to the end of our [55:00] time and I would imagine that some of [55:02] our listeners uh would like to come [55:05] alongside and learn some more or support [55:07] your work in some way. How can they [55:09] follow along? Uh give your social media [55:11] handles, your website uh how they can [55:13] come alongside your work. [55:16] >> Absolutely. I would love for everyone to [55:19] follow our work and to share repost so [55:22] that we get to places where they haven't [55:24] heard the moderate Muslim voices. Our [55:27] website is www.ammwe.org. [55:35] But all you have to do is search for [55:38] Anila Ali and you will see a lot of our [55:40] links to our Instagram account, to our [55:43] YouTube account, our Tik Tok. Yes, we're [55:46] on Tik Tok as well. And we try to be fun [55:48] on Tik Tok. Um and and and just follow [55:51] us. And if you'd like to donate um um [55:55] please do that at our website. But more [55:57] importantly, our conference is on July [55:59] 13th at the National Press Club where [56:02] we're launching our book, a testimonial [56:04] on Muslims who've been to Israel and [56:06] they are coming from all over the US [56:08] also from Canada. They are fighting [56:10] anti-semitism and hater and they're [56:13] going to be speaking. So everyone asks [56:16] the question, where are the moderate [56:18] Muslims? They're here. But we want you [56:20] to empower our voices. That's what I say [56:23] to all media. You know, left media, they [56:27] reached out to care after the San Diego [56:30] shooting. And okay, you want to have [56:33] care, then you better have a moderate [56:35] voice for voice, too. [56:38] >> This is my message. Empower the [56:40] moderates and you will be muff, you [56:42] know, muting and muffling out the the [56:45] radicals. the fact that we have during [56:48] the Obama administration where I was [56:50] working on countering violent extremism. [56:53] My number one ask was can you stop [56:56] empowering the the radicals? They're [56:58] sitting in the White House. They're [57:00] sitting in the Department of Homeland [57:01] Security. Can you stop that? Because [57:04] that [57:05] that defeats the whole purpose of [57:08] countering violent extremism. [57:12] >> Wow. Well, thank you so much for taking [57:14] the time out to be on [57:15] Shouldertoshoulder. This has been a very [57:17] inspiring conversation and we're [57:19] grateful for a voice like yours in this [57:22] generation. Thank you so much. [57:24] >> Thank you. [57:25] >> Thank you for listening to today's [57:27] episode. [57:29] >> Yes, of course. And we appreciate all of [57:32] our listeners. Thank you for listening [57:34] to today's episode. If you enjoyed this [57:35] episode, please like, rate, and share [57:37] this podcast. Subscribe on Patreon. Come [57:39] on over to Facebook and YouTube. Like [57:41] our page, join our Facebook group, [57:42] connect with Pesak and I more and more. [57:45] We love our shoulder-to-shoulder family. [57:47] And we'll see you on our next episode.
