A recent report published by MEMRI claims that a Qatari preacher claimed that both Jews and Christians are in an existential struggle against Islam.
By Rachel Avraham
According to a recent report in MEMRI, “In his October 19, 2025 column in the Qatari government daily Al-Sharq, Ahmad Al-Muhammadi, imam and preacher in Qatar’s Waqf Ministry, explained that the enmity between the Muslims and the Jews and Christians is existential and deeply rooted, and presented Islam as the truth and Christianity and Judaism as falsehood and heresy.”
The MEMRI report continues, “Stating that anyone who thinks that this enmity – which he said stems from a variety of reasons involving a combination of faith, interests, history and geography – is transient is deluding himself, he went on to clarify that it would continue as long as Islam exists and “as long as the communities of unbelief persist in their deviation.””
According to MEMRI, “He stressed that a devout Muslim “realizes that today’s conflict between Islam and its enemies is not just a battle over borders or interests, but a battle over values, ways of action, and the future.” He went on to call on Muslims to beware of slogans of tolerance that are aimed at uprooting belief in Islam, and asserted that Islam is “a religion that neither compromises nor reconciles.””
Al Muhammadi wrote, “”There is an explicit Quranic verse [2:120] that requires awareness and understanding: ‘And never will the Jews or the Christians approve of you until you follow their religion.’ [This] verse establishes an eternal rule in the relationship between truth and falsehood, and clarifies that the difference between them is not one of nuances and details, but a difference in roots, principles and aims. This verse states emphatically that [gaining] the approval of the People of the Book [i.e. Jews and Christians], or of anyone who deviates from the straight path, is not a goal that can be attained by means of dialogue [with them], sycophancy [towards them], or relinquishing some principles.”
He continued, “[Gaining their approval] is conditional on the believer [i.e., the Muslim] relinquishing [Allah’s] revelation [to Muhammad] and adopting the whims of others. This condition is fundamentally unacceptable. Truth does not come to terms with falsehood, and falsehood cannot tolerate the existence of truth – the existence of one negates the other. Therefore, the struggle between faith and unbelief was [always] an existential conflict in which there can be no bargaining…”
According to him, “”Some may delude themselves that this enmity can pass over time, or at least diminish over the course of centuries. But Allah the Exalted revealed the truth [about this enmity] from the outset, making clear that it will continue as long as there is Islam and preaching to Islam, and as long as the communities of unbelief persist in their deviation.
“The reasons for this enmity are profound and interrelated, integrating belief and interests with history and geography. They can be summed up in four central points.”
- Islam is a religion that neither compromises nor reconciles. It is a religion that proclaims the absolute oneness of Allah, rejects partial solutions, and rejects the mixing of truth with falsehood… Thus, the enemies of Islam will not tolerate it, unless it renounces its essence and turns into formal ritual with no influence on the ground – that is, when it relinquishes its identity.
- [Islam] is a project that contradicts their projects. Islam is not an abstract spiritual idea, nor is it moral principles that are disconnected from the [reality of] life. It is a comprehensive cultural project that outlines a path for worship, for politics, for the economy and for society. It is a project that liberates the individual from enslavement to money and power… and that is what makes it rival to every colonialist or materialist project that seeks to keep people captive to desires and interests. Thus, their hostility toward Islam was in order to defend their cultural existence, and not only [to defend] a religious faith.
- The territories [of Islam] are the crux of the conflict. The first territories in which Islam [prevailed] are the cradle of [monotheistic] prophecy, the place of divine revelation, and the center of monotheism in the world. This is the land that Allah chose as the starting point of the light, and thus it became the object of desire of all forces seeking to seize the reins of history… Thus, the battle for Jerusalem and the blessed land has remained at the core of the conflict between Islam and its enemies from the beginning of its mission [in the world] to date.
- The territories [of Islam hold] the resources and the keys. Since ancient times, the Muslim lands have been a place where continents meet, natural resources are found, and trade [routes] pass. Today they are the world’s energy hub, a region commanding sea lanes, and the world’s economic gateway. Thus, the struggle over them is not only religious, but a struggle over interests and strategies in which economic ambitions are intertwined with ideological aspirations. Among the enemies of Islam, religion has become a cover for ambitions of control and hegemony.
Al Muhammadi concluded, “We therefore see that the conflict between Islam and its enemies runs deeper than a mere cultural debate about identity or shared values. It is a conflict between two opposing paths – one that attributes everything to Allah and one that turns man into a god on earth. Thus, Islam, [which is] truth, cannot meet with falsehood on the same path. Islam does not accept partial loyalties or partial solutions, and will not be reduced to a cultural heritage or a meaningless spiritual symbol.”
Photo from Khamenei.ir: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamim_bin_Hamad_Al_Thani#/media/File:Emir_of_Qatar_on_February_19,_2025_(cropped).jpg
