US Islamic scholar calls on followers to rise up against 'tyrant' America
"You are seeing what a police state is like. You have to demand your rights from that tyrant," he said.
By DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDSPeople take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, US, June 18, 2020(photo credit: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS)
An American Shi'ite Islamic scholar has called on the followers of Imam Khomeini, the leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution, to follow Khomeini's example in liberating the globe from America's tyranny.The riots taking place across America following the death of an African American man, George Floyd, at the hands of a white police officer were indicative that America is a police state, and that the people are rising up against it, he said."People marching globally. Here, in America - America on fire," Usama Abdul Ghani told viewers of the UK-based AhlulBayt Islamic Mission's (AIM) YouTube channel, in a broadcast live-streamed on June 6, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).He continued: "When that happened, what happened? More police brutality. You are seeing what a police state is like. What is a police state like? People brave bullets, rubber bullets, beatings, savagery, and they say: 'No, enough is enough!' They came out to the streets. After that, the police still didn't stop."The tipping point, Abdul Ghani said, was the killing of IRGC Qods Force Commander General Qasem Soleimani and PMU Deputy Commander Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, who he referred to as martyrs, by America in January, following which the world began to change rapidly."Things started to change very rapidly in the world," he said. "You could feel it. You could see it. You are watching events, after events, after events... And now after the murder of George Floyd, again, you are seeing that things are really picking up. [...] It was the straw that broke the camel's back - people started protesting, they started rioting."Insisting that the reaction by the American authorities was indicative of America being a tyrannical police state, Abdul Ghani, who lives in Dearborn, Michigan, said the American people should follow the example of Imam Khomeini, Qasem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis."Begging the tyrant doesn't work, you have to demand your rights from that tyrant," he insisted. "Now, knowing a little bit about what systemic racism is, what can we learn about the life of Imam Khomeini that will empower us to do this mission that we have and restore dignity to the oppressed? Not only to the oppressed here, brothers and sisters - to liberate the globe."Imam Khomeini's mission was not only to give dignity to Iran, or just to the Muslims, but to the oppressed on the Earth. [...] The students of Imam Khomeini - people like the martyr Qasem Soleimani or Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis - they died trying to realize this goal of giving dignity to the oppressed."The AhlulBayt Islamic Mission's YouTube channel, AIM Islam, currently has approximately 8,450 subscribers and has uploaded a number of videos in recent weeks along the same theme, including in the last week 'The Black Struggle for Justice: African Slavery,' 'I Can't Breathe - From Karbala to Minnesota,' a reference to Lloyd's last words which have become a rallying cry for Black Lives Matter protestors, and 'Uncovering Systemic Racism.'Hundreds of American police officers and civilians have been injured in the riots sweeping across America, which have also claimed the lives of at least one officer and a number of civilians.According to the Des Moines Register, two people were killed during a riot on May 31 and one officer injured at a shooting near the NorthPark Mall."What we experienced tonight, last night was completely unacceptable and it does not honor the memory of Mr. Floyd," Davenport Police Chief Paul Sikorski said in a press conference the following day.In Jacksonville, Florida, an officer's throat was slashed with an "edged weapon" the same weekend, according to Police Magazine, while in Boston, Massachusetts, a police patrol vehicle was set on fire and at least seven officers injured during a protest over Floyd's death.The officer killed during riots has been named as retired St. Louis police Capt. David Dorn, an African-American former law enforcement officer who was shot and killed responding to a break in at his friend's pawn shop during looting following a protest on June 2.
