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Omar Suleiman

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194
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2023-01-17
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2023-01-17
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  1. “And that's one of the added benefits, right? It's good for us. Worship that we do is not torturous. It's actually good for us. However, the core objective of worship has to remain that it's something you do out of worship and something you do out of a sense of obligation and gratitude to God, not because of those things. Like I'm not going to fast because it's good for my health, but I know it's good for my health to fast. But it's pretty cool when you walk into, I'll share this with you, there was a man. He was a scholar from Turkey, an Islamic scholar from Turkey and he had visited us in Dallas and he was 108 years old and he could still pray, bowing and prostrating, I mean his limbs, and you think about that like someone at that age still being able to do that. So I'm sure it's good for your limbs, it's good for your health, good for your gut, good for your sleep, good for your mind.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  2. “We have amazing. I don't want to cut you off. We have amazing hygiene because of how much we have to wash up for. And it's great for our limbs as well, right?”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  3. “There you go. See, people underestimate that. There's a great sage in Islam. He was asked. He said, How come the people who pray at night are the most beautiful of people and they're fresh in the day? It doesn't make sense. And he said, because they secluded themselves with the most merciful, and he dressed them in his light. And so there's a beauty that it generates. And that's why we're to aspire to that, really, as believers. That's kind of your highest thing. Like, don't just pray the five prayers. If you can pray at night, pray at night and connect at that time.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  4. “So, when we think about access, in the last third of the night, we're taught that God says, Is there anyone seeking forgiveness that I may forgive them? Is there anyone seeking refuge that I may grant it to them? Is there anyone asking for anything that I may give it to them? So whatever you're calling upon him with at that time, he's responding to you in a way that befits him. And so it's closeness as well. You would think that you sleep less, so you're probably more cranky, but the happiest people in the world are the people that stand up in that last third of the night and pray.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  5. “Praying even for a few minutes, there's something in the serenity of the night. that can unlock a new sense of inner joy and peace that nothing else in the world can give you”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  6. “But if you actually learn its essence, then it can feel more like a joy than it is an obligation. And then you're called to at night, especially again the night prayer is a big part of who we are as Muslims, waking up in the last part of the night. The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said that the best prayer and the best fasting was of that of David, peace be upon him. So we think of David, prophet David. He's a prophet in Islam as well. I'm sure you'll ask me about the whole concept of prophethood. You're hearing Abraham and David and others, right? So David, peace be upon him. He said that David used to fast every other day and he used to pray the last third of the night. He'd stand up and pray in the last third of the night. So fasting is a big part of who we are. And praying in the last third of the night, meaning before that.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  7. “Matter what you're doing. It's actually think of it this way you're in a meeting, you're engaged in something, you're really stressed out, and you also have the abolition before the prayer where you wash up, wash your face, wash your limbs, and engage in prayer. What it does for you in anchoring you in something more meaningful when you are in the turmoil of a lot of times what's not so meaningful is incredible. And so it's a gift from God. And it is an obligation. It's something that we have to do as Muslims.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  8. “And I try to make it a point to tell people if I'm about to pray in front of them. So, like on the airport, let's say, for example, I go to the corner next to a gate And if there are people sitting there like, hey, I'm about to engage in a prayer. I hope you don't mind. They'll really appreciate the courtesy most of the time. But no, I mean, when those five times come in and they're kind of windows, right, we have to pray. That means at work, that means at school, that means when you're traveling, although there are some concessions that allow you to combine prayers at certain times when you're traveling, for example. But even then, you're going to have to pray. And I think that That does to Bring you back to God.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  9. “I've attracted curiosity, I've attracted hate. I've had people walk up to me like, hey man, you okay? In the airplane, everything.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  10. “And you will say Allah untasalam wa minka salam that, O Allah, O God, you are peace and from you is peace, and to you belongs all glory and all praise, almost to say that you received something in this prayer, that you receive a great sense of inner peace, and now you're spreading that, right? So as it really comes into you, then you can give to the world around you what you generate in your own heart. And in prayer, you generate a great sense of tranquility, a great sense of peace. The Quran says, verily in the remembrance of God do hearts find contentment. And prayer is an exercise in the remembrance of God. That is, again, obligatory five times a day. No matter where you are.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  11. “Peace and blessings and prayers upon again both Muhammad and his family and Abraham and his family. And then you have another chance to make some of your own personal prayers. And then you say, peace be unto you and the mercy of God, to your right, peace be unto you and the mercy of God to your left. And that means everything and everyone to your right, everyone and everything to your left. So you imagine a congregation when you're in worship, right? You're sending that to the angels and the human beings next to you, your fellow worshippers next to you. And you'll even say you'll seek forgiveness from God afterwards. There are supplications that surround the prayer.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  12. “The earliest prayer is two units. The second prayer, which is around noon, is four units, and then afternoon another four units, and then the sunset prayer is three units, and then the evening prayer is four units. So each prayer has a different number of units to it, and some voluntary prayers that surround it. When you come back up, you express also a form of greeting towards God and channeling your prayers and your blessings towards God. You reiterate the Shahada, which is the first pillar of Islam. I testify that there is only one God, and that Muhammad is his servant and messenger. And then you read what's called Salah Ibrahimiyah, which is the Abrahamic prayer. So you send peace and blessings upon Muhammad and his family and Abraham and his family. Abraham, peace be upon him is really at the core of this religion. And so at the prayer, at the end of the prayer, you sound.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  13. “Your mind is actually under your heart, and you really have a chance to pour your emotions out and to connect deeply to God. It's the prayer of all of the prophets, Jesus. Peace be upon him as described even biblically as falling on his face in prayer. And so it really is, I think, the most intimate moment that you get with God and the deepest part of the prayer. The word masjid, which is mosque in Arabic means place of sujud, place of prostration. So think of the rest of prayer as an introduction to that particular part of the prayer where you really immerse yourself. Not that you shouldn't be immersed in your prayer throughout, but when you're in Sajud, when you're in prostration, that's where you're really closest and most connected to God. So we do that. And so some prayers are two units. Well, the first prayer of the day, which is before sunrise.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  14. “Can cry your heart out. That is the time that you really feel a sense of great closeness and devotion to God. And as I was telling you earlier, it's a time that your mind is under your heart for a change, right? The only position, physical position.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  15. “Once again, God is greater we go into bowing, and in bowing we say, which means glory be to God, the Almighty. Glory be to God, the Almighty, glory be to God the Almighty. And you say, God has heard the one who has praised him. And then the response is, and to you, O Lord belongs all praise. And then we go into prostration. And prostration is at the heart of the prayer. And it is the most beautiful portion of the prayer, and it is the most beloved position for a servant of God and that which is most pleasing to God. It's when you say at that point, all glory be to God the most high. All glory be to God the Most High. So while you put yourself in the lowest position, you acknowledge God being the most high. And the Prophet, peace, and blessings be upon him said that the closest that a person is to God is when they are in prostration. That is the time that your supplications are most precious and beloved. That is the time that you...”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  16. “So basically, you say Allahu Akbar, which means I'm going to kill you, right? Or so they say, right? God is greater. You start off with that, an expression of God's greatness. And then you recite the opening chapter of the Quran, which is known as Al-Fatiyah. It's the first chapter of the Quran in the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful. All praises be to God, the Lord of all the worlds, most compassionate, most merciful, master of the day of judgment. You alone we worship and from you alone we seek help. Guide us to the straight path, the path of those who have earned your favor. Not those who have earned your wrath, nor those who have gone astray. So that's a translation of the first chapter, the opening chapter of the Quran, which is known as ad-fatiha. So we recite that in every one of the units of prayer. And then after that, we recite something else from the Quran. So some other portion of the Quran. And then we say Allahu Akbar.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  17. “Sure. So prayer is the central pillar, if you will, of Islam. It is the life of the believer encapsulated into a very specific act of devotion that's done at least five times a day. So there are different types of prayer. There's prayer. There's supplication. So the five daily prayers are called salah, which is the obligatory prayers. And then beyond that, there are voluntary prayers that are done throughout the day as well. So you can pray before and after the obligatory prayers and then there are other times of the day that you can pray also. And the best prayer, voluntary prayers at nights in the middle of the night because it's the time that you're closest to God, sincere away from the eyes of people just in the still of the night. And you'd pray in a similar way with the standing and the bowing and the prostration, reciting the Quran. And then you have supplication and words of remembrance that you are to do throughout the day.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  18. “Where people that have values, where people that want to see our places of worship thrive, where people that have something to offer to this country, to the people around us of good. But ultimately, we want to engage and be engaged with on the basis of who we actually are, not who you need us to be right now. And that's been the problem that we've had. So it's not a lack of representation as much as a lack of authentic engagement.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  19. “I think representation is everything. I think that representation can actually be detrimental sometimes because you can have people that represent you but that don't actually represent your priorities as a community, as a faith community. So we don't want to be tokenized as a community, right? We want to be engaged and engaged fully as Muslims and be respected as American Muslims. You know, I wrote something at the time actually of Muslim Ban. I wrote an article for CNN called I Am Not Your American Muslim. I am not your American Muslim. We are not a tool of liberals against conservatives, nor are we simply to be made out to be your villain or your victim, we're a people of faith.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  20. “A religious community that's also a minority, the racialization of the Muslim community sort of robs us of who we are and how we get to engage them with different platforms and different peoples around us. So we find ourselves in a very awkward place.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  21. “Right. So the Muslim community is in its nature conservative for what that's worth, right? It's a conservative community. It's a community that has certain orthodoxies and practices that would make it disagreeable in its nature and its practice to many on the left and many on the right just see us as a group of foreigners and a threat in that regard. We find ourselves in this awkward place. There's also the presence of sort of the pro-Israel dominance of both parties, the foreign policy of both parties is detrimental to Muslims globally. The securitization of the Muslim community and the name of countering violent extremism. Unfortunately, the Muslim community has had both Republican and Democratic administrations just run over its rights. So we find ourselves kind of in this awkward space, right?”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  22. “So Muslims find themselves in awkward place politically. That's the best way to put it. We are a religious community. And so we don't find ourselves welcomed by the left, which has a hostility towards religion and most left spaces and most liberal spaces.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  23. “But again, there's hypocrisy on all sides of the political aisle here in the United States. There is Islamophobia of different flavors. I think even the term Islamophobia can become contentious because there are people that attack us in different ways and that might not be as overtly bigoted, but nonetheless are infringing on our rights to be full American Muslims. Muslims find themselves in a very strange political place where you've got one side that seemingly wants to annihilate you and another side that only accepts you if you're willing to assimilate, but no one really allows you to be a full on American Muslim. And so Muslims find themselves in a very strange place right now with all of the political sides, with the political parties.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  24. “And we stayed there for a few days, stayed overnight. It was one of the New York Times pictures of the year when we did our prayer because when we had to do our prayer, it wasn't just Muslims that came to the airport. It was many people that came to the airport of different faiths that were outraged by what they had seen. So when we do our prayer, there was a protest chant that you pray, we stay. And so the airport had to make room for us because like a thousand people that need to have our five daily prayers. So we would do our prayers in the airport. We waited. We continued until the detainees were freed at least temporarily. Unfortunately, some elements of that legislation remained, and it was an ongoing struggle. But look, what I'll say is that those are some of the more obvious manifestations of anti-Muslim bigotry.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  25. “When he rolled it out at the time, there were people in flight on their way to the United States that were held in airports around the country, children, elderly people that were held in these small rooms and treated awfully before being put back on a plane and sent to where they were. There were families that had medical needs that were never able to come together. specifically targeted Muslim countries to play to that idea of a complete ban of Muslims, which he knew was not feasible at the time. Now, personally, you know, Dallas had the largest amount, the largest number of detainees in the airport. We have one of the largest airports in America, and we took to the airport.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  26. “It was disgraceful, it was a tactic that was used, you know, at the time, very similar to the whole build-a-wall rhetoric to play to a particular political sloganering and carrying out those types of acts against the Muslim community. You're not going to face much opposition typically in any meaningful way that would be politically costly.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  27. “I mean, we have to interrogate The foundations of our country when our country is in such turmoil, on such chaos, no country in the world has the mass shootings that we have. No country in the world has some of the polarization that we have. We have to interrogate that and say what it is that we're doing wrong that's leading to that. And I think, again, that it's reaching a point where it's unsustainable. If we don't do better and try to solve some of the rifts right now that exist in our society, then we're going to end up in a place where we may not be able to climb out of this.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  28. “And I think that free speech is weaponized against the Muslim community and often is held up as this great value, but really to attain very lowly things and is often to our detriments.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  29. “Major hypocrisy. Major hypocrisy. See, free speech is an ideal that is weaponized against the Muslim community and against other communities in such a hypocritical way. You know, you take, for example, some countries in Europe. Let's kind of move away from this and look at the hypocrisy of a place like France where the caricaturing and the portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him in derogatory ways will be used as the hallmark of free speech. But Muslims that will caricature Macron or challenge some of the values of France, the supposed enshrined values of France will end up in prison and end up deported. And so here in the United States, there's a great hypocrisy. I don't think that places of worship should Have armed protesters in front of them. I think that that poses a security risk. I think that it's not okay.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  30. “I think that you have to take it away from the text and look at it within reality. Let's be real. Would Muslims be able to protest in front of churches with guns on a weekly basis in this country? I don't think so.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  31. “Ignoring people altogether. But ultimately, you can't let the way people treat you shape who you're going to be in the world. And so that's why I say we have to look beyond the guns and the roses. We have to look beyond the hostility of our enemies and the temporary and opportunistic embrace of some of those who claim to be our allies and be us and treat the world and treat the people of this world in accordance with your standards, not with theirs. So don't teach them or don't let them teach you bad character. You teach them good character. So live your life and live your faith beautifully and let people see the beauty of it through your being and do not let their ugliness consume you, but at the same time, sometimes you got to give people room to express frustration. To say that this is unacceptable, to have demonstrations of strength.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  32. “The Quran says, respond to that which is evil with that which is better. And you will find that sometimes your enemy will become your close friend. So respond with that which is better. Doesn't mean be passive. Sometimes there needs to be a demonstration of strength. Sometimes there needs to be a demonstration of”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  33. “The goal that is sought through intimidation is silence. And so we have to carry ourselves as proud American Muslims. We don't have to impress anyone. And we don't need to relinquish an iota of our faith to coexist with anyone. We are satisfied with who we are. We don't see a contradiction between our place of residence and our religion, our nationality, our religion. We don't see that as a problem, right? So that's something for them to work out, not for you to work out. That's what I would tell young Muslims that continue to live your faith fully and demonstrate the beauty of it and do not let the ugliness of the world consume you.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  34. “It's not nice. It's not great. I mean, Definitely a challenge, but look, there are challenges that we face as Muslims being in the United States, being in a hostile climate. There are different types of challenges. And I think what we've had to do as a Muslim community is see beyond both the guns and the roses and think about who we are first. Because frankly, Islamophobia exists in different forms and from different sides. And we try to use this as an opportunity to instill in our young people Just the sense of belonging, but a sense of purpose. Do not be intimidated. And in fact, show them the best of your Islam, live your life, because at the end of the day”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  35. “Whose leg had been blown off in an airstrike And he said, I feel like an idiot. I mean, he expressed all sorts of regret and was teary-eyed, that he could dehumanize people the way that he was. And so my whole thing was and is, come inside the mosque, put your gun down, disarm yourself, and learn. And you'll be surprised what you walk away with. And only took one meeting with him to completely shift his worldview at the time. Was made up of heroes and villains, the Muslims, unfortunately, being the villains that had to be wiped off the face of the earth so that the earth could continue. So that was an interesting documentary and it was an interesting social experiment”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  36. “So when BBC reached out and said, we want to do a documentary about this, unfortunately, Dallas was the only place in America where you had regular armed groups in front of our mosques. It was happening around the country infrequently, but here it was happening every week. So the BBC reached out and said, we want to interview you. I said, we've got this idea. We want to put you, we want to take you to a park and have you meet one of the protesters who's been wielding his gun outside your mosque and talk to him. And it was really interesting because they'd interviewed him before meeting me and the things that he was able to utter before meeting me and before meeting Syrian refugees was just awful. I mean, the most dehumanizing rhetoric that you can imagine. But then at the park, he meets me, talks to me, he meets Assyrian refugee family. One of the girls”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  37. “Then you just had tons of places of worship being targeted, right? So they're seeing this unfold, and then they're seeing these guns in front of their mosques and the result. Money as well. I just don't want to get shot. I don't want to go to the mosque. I don't want to have this happen to me.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  38. “Unfortunate, perfect combustion of the national discourse with the local discourse with the incoming refugees. And we would do all sorts of welcome refugee events, and we do that. And we don't only do that for Muslim refugees, by the way. There are refugees from other parts of the world as well. But we would host events at our mosques, you know, to welcome refugees to help integrate them into the community, to do things for them. So you have these armed protests happening, right? Horrible because. Think about the trauma to the children that are hearing about Tree of Life and hearing about some of these other incidents that are unfolding. And really one of the first communities that was targeted was the Sikh community in Madison. That was one of the first shootings and then the AME Church Charleston.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  39. “Funny enough, the year before that she'd come to the mosque and she praised the diversity of Irving. And she was talking about how welcome she felt in the mosque and the next thing we know, you have these crazy white supremacist groups, openly white supremacists that affiliate themselves with the clan and others protesting regularly in front of our mosques with their AR fifteens and telling people to go back home. And I'm like, I'm from New Orleans. I'm not planning to move back to New Orleans. I'm home. We're home. We're good. You know, we're staying put. And we refuse to be intimidated. But then when the Syrian refugee crisis is unfolding as well, Dallas has been one of the more popular destinations, if you will. I'm not talking about it like a vacation destination, but where a lot of refugees have come to just because of the infrastructure that we have set up here to receive refugees. And so that hysteria was, I don't know.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  40. “And it was unfortunate because what it unleashed, you know, especially with the national discourse at the time, again, the presidential campaign, you know, Donald Trump says, I think Islam hates us when he uses those words, I think Islam hates us. When Ted Cruz suggests that Muslim neighborhoods could be patrolled or should be patrolled. And then you have the Irving Mayer saying that one of the most populated cities with Muslims in America, they're operating under an alternative legal system.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  41. “2015. The mayor of Irving at the time, Beth Van Dyne, who is now a congresswoman, had put out the idea that Muslims were operating a Sharia court in Irving, Texas. And suddenly there was a hysteria because again, there's the idea that Muslims are here to dominate. Muslims are here to overthrow everything that you have in the United States. There was a hysteria here.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  42. “Know in the very beginning of the rise of at that time actually Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, like when Islamophobia was at the center of many of the presidential candidates' campaigns at the time.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  43. “So, what I tell people is that I think with all of these people that shoot up synagogues and shoot up mosques, and even before that, actually, Charleston, South Carolina shooting at an AME church. You know, when he went there He actually said that before he murdered nine worshippers in that church. Was taken aback by how nice they were to him. He sat there for two hours before he turned a gun on. People who were over the age of 80 years old and murdered them in cold blood. So, this is what I talk about when I say that as human beings, we have the propensity, unfortunately Become worse than devils, or we can choose to be angelic when we choose worship and righteousness over ourselves. So that's a spiritual crisis as well, and a crisis of meaning and emptiness where I think”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  44. “The shooter explicitly said that the reason why he went to that mosque in Quebec and shot dead six Muslim worshipers was because he was afraid that because of the ban on Syrian refugees in the United States they would come to Canada and he didn't want them to feel welcomed in Canada. So there is a connection, and I think it's when you are able to dehumanize large groups of people. And attribute a nefarious element to them, then unfortunately in a world that's becoming more and more polarized where people are able to construct their entire world views based on an algorithm, that their social media caters to. You're going to have some of these attacks happen and there's going to be an unfortunate connection between them.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  45. “Because he believed that they were taking in Syrian refugees or supporting Syrian Muslim refugees. You think about that. San Diego Synagogue shooting that took place shortly after he went to a mosque and then he went to a synagogue. Look, the idea of Scapegoating minority populations. And attributing to them a disproportionate sense of power and a nefarious element where they can't be trusted. And unless we wipe them out. Then they're going to wipe us out underlies many of the bigotries that exist. I mean, look, after Trump announced his Muslim ban, there was a shooting in Canada, an attack in Canada on a mosque in Quebec, where six people were killed.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  46. “Absolutely. Look, in Pittsburgh, the synagogue shooting, the perpetrator particularly targeted targeted that Synagogue because”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  47. “War I World War two had nothing to do with religion, certainly nothing to do with Islam, fascism, Soviet atheism, right? Many of these systems where people were murdered in the millions, Nazism, the Holocaust, Rwanda, Cambodia, I can go on and on, the Rohingya today, the greatest atrocity towards the Uyghurs. Where is Islam fit in all of this? People do horrible things. They stamp it with religion at times, but the only group of people that seem to suffer after an act of violence is committed are Muslims because any act of violence that is committed by a Muslim will immediately be blamed on Islam and two billion people will have to carry the burden of the act of a single perpetrator.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  48. “The man wanted, and I won't even say his name, but his next target after the two mosques had he not been stopped was to go to a Muslim daycare. So what drives someone to dehumanize people to that extent that he was willing to go to a daycare and murder a bunch of kids because he saw them as a demographic threat to civilization. So Muslims are terrorized because they are falsely depicted as terrorists, Muslims suffer domestically and globally because of this false association. It's a lazy association. And when someone comes around and says, well, fine, not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims. I say that. You clearly don't read statistics. Whether we're talking about the twentieth century, and I'm a student of history and I believe you are as well, all the isms.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  49. “We have people standing in front of our mosques that belong to right wing, hate militias carrying AR-15s talking about wanting to inflict harm on Muslims. I have been to Christ Church in New Zealand and buried the victims of a white supremacist terrorist who was inspired by the political rhetoric here in the United States, in his own words in his manifesto, to go and kill fifty innocent people, and Christchurch in Zealand one of the most peaceful cities in the world. And by the way, Lex, I mean, it's really interesting, like with Christ Church.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  50. “With the government apparatus doesn't make it any less terroristic than if it's a lone person that goes out and commits an act of violence trying to achieve a political goal. The association is lazy, historically speaking, the crusades. I grew up in Louisiana. I saw clan rallies, Ku Klux, clan rallies my whole life, and people said, well, that's a thing of the past. Well, guess what? We see many semblances, many acts that are carried out with the same vitriol that was generated by the Ku Klux Klan.”

    2023-01-17 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #352 – Omar Suleiman: Islam · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source