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Can We Trust Iran’s Islamic Leadership? · Hank Unplugged

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Speaker 1: Hi, this is Hank Hanegraaff, president of the Christian Research
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Speaker 1: Institute and host of the Hank Unplugged podcast. And in
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Speaker 1: today's podcast, I want to talk about the current war
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Speaker 1: in Iran. I think this is a timely subject that
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Speaker 1: needs to be addressed. I also want to talk about
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Speaker 1: America's attempt to forge a treaty, a treaty with the
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Speaker 1: current leadership in Iran. And I should also add some
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Speaker 1: comments about the contrast between Islam and Christianity. If you
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Speaker 1: have been following the news, you've no doubt heard our
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Speaker 1: president characterize the current leadership in Iran as crazy. But
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Speaker 1: I have a question, are they really crazy? Or is
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Speaker 1: there something else going on? The truth is this, Iran's
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Speaker 1: negotiation tactics, they have a very specific history. And that
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Speaker 1: history goes back to Muhammad. back to when he had
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Speaker 1: mastered Medina. And then he had planned to become master
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Speaker 1: of Mecca as well. There's something noted by Yusuf Ali
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Speaker 1: in his translation of the Quran that bears relevance to
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Speaker 1: what I'm talking about. The prophet, he said, had had
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Speaker 1: a dream, a dream that he entered the sacred mosque
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Speaker 1: of Mecca just before he decided on a journey which resulted,
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Speaker 1: and here's the operative phrase, resulted in the Treaty of Hudubiyah.
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Speaker 1: By this treaty, said Yusuf Ali, the door was opened
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Speaker 1: for the free spread of Islam throughout Arabia and thence
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Speaker 1: throughout the world. The Treaty of Hudabaya was a pact
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Speaker 1: between the Muslims and the Meccans. It was a pact
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Speaker 1: that was signed back in 628. So we're back in
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Speaker 1: the 7th century. And it was signed at the western
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Speaker 1: edge of the city of Mecca in a place that
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Speaker 1: was called Hudabaya. The agreement was It involved a 10-year
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Speaker 1: ceasefire that would permit the Muslims the privilege of being
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Speaker 1: able to circumambulate the pagan Kaaba the following year. So
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Speaker 1: that would have been 629. And the treaty was extraordinarily unpopular.
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Speaker 1: I have to emphasize that point. The Muslims themselves, the
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Speaker 1: followers of Muhammad, were not happy with this treaty. Because
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Speaker 1: they didn't understand exactly what Muhammad was doing, but he did.
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Speaker 1: He knew precisely what he had in mind. Hudabaya, from
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Speaker 1: the perspective of Muhammad, was the way to set a pattern.
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Speaker 1: A pattern for the spread of Islam from the 7th
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Speaker 1: century to the present. And the formula has always been straightforward.
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Speaker 1: If you have military superiority, use it for conquest. If not,
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Speaker 1: sign a treaty. Now, there's a precedent for what I'm saying.
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Speaker 1: For example, think back to when the 20th century Muslim
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Speaker 1: Yasser Arafat was still alive. He was being criticized himself
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Speaker 1: because he was making concessions to Israel. But how did
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Speaker 1: he quell the angst? by referring back to the Treaty
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Speaker 1: of Hudabaya. He said, this treaty, of course he was
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Speaker 1: talking about the Oslo Accords, this treaty is like that
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Speaker 1: signed between our prophet Muhammad and the Quraysh in Mecca.
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Speaker 1: And then he went on to say that Caliph Omar
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Speaker 1: had refused this agreement and considered it a despicable truth,
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Speaker 1: but Muhammad accepted it, and in the manner of Muhammad,
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Speaker 1: We are now accepting this Oslo Peace Accord. Now, not
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Speaker 1: everybody was on to what was going on, but there
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Speaker 1: was one man who was. His name was Zuckerman, Mortimer Zuckerman.
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Speaker 1: At the time, he was editor-in-chief of U.S. News and
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Speaker 1: World Report, and he understood precisely what was going on.
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Speaker 1: He understood what Arafat was talking about when he referenced peace.
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Speaker 1: The Israelis, he said at that time, now have a
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Speaker 1: historic question to answer. Is Arafat a true peacemaker? Or
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Speaker 1: does he believe his own rhetoric when he echoes the
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Speaker 1: doctrine of the Prophet Muhammad? The doctrine of making treaties
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Speaker 1: with enemies while weak and then violating those treaties with
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Speaker 1: went strong. Now some of you may remember this, but
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Speaker 1: we have short memories. So let me simply remind you
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Speaker 1: of something. When the Council on American Islamic Relations, known
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Speaker 1: as CARE, a very, very bad organization, when they realized
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Speaker 1: that Zuckerman was onto them, all hell literally broke loose.
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Speaker 1: Kerr's constituency made such a racket that the magazine felt
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Speaker 1: obligated to redact Zuckerman's observations. Well, let's leave that alone
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Speaker 1: for right now and fast forward to today. Huda Baya
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Speaker 1: is the way many Muslims view the Iran nuclear deal today.
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Speaker 1: Because as with their prophet Muhammad, The current leadership of
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Speaker 1: Iran is aware of their present weaknesses. But if and
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Speaker 1: when they become strong, they will no doubt find a
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Speaker 1: convenient pretext, a pretext for violating any agreement they make
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Speaker 1: with the United States of America. Again, think back to
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Speaker 1: the precedent set by Muhammad. After his conquest of Khyber,
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Speaker 1: He no longer had any need or room for the
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Speaker 1: Treaty of Hudabaya. Why? Because he was now the most powerful,
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Speaker 1: the most prosperous lord in all of Arabia. And so
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Speaker 1: back in January of 630, he marched towards Mecca. He
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Speaker 1: marched with an army, a powerful army of some 10,000
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Speaker 1: seasoned warriors. Of course, the Meccans were no match for
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Speaker 1: this kind of Muslim might. And so they submitted without
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Speaker 1: a fight. And we all know what happened next. At
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Speaker 1: least we should. Just three years after Muhammad died, Damascus,
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Speaker 1: the very city where St. Paul was heading when he
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Speaker 1: experienced his dramatic conversion to Christianity, fell to the invading Muslims.
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Speaker 1: And then just two years later, Antioch, Antioch was the
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Speaker 1: place where disciples of Jesus were first called Christians. Antioch,
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Speaker 1: that very place fell. And then shortly thereafter, it was
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Speaker 1: the sad and unhappy task of the patriarch of Jerusalem
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Speaker 1: to hand over the golden city, the gilded city of
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Speaker 1: Jerusalem to the conquering Umar. And so from the fall
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Speaker 1: of Jerusalem to the present, the world now knows jihad.
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Speaker 1: Because Muhammad's trail of terror is the very legacy of Islam.
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Speaker 1: He migrated to Medina, but he never assimilated. And after
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Speaker 1: reaching critical mass, he slew the pagans. He took their
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Speaker 1: houses and their lands. And then later, he seized Mecca
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Speaker 1: and made it the centerpiece of his conquests. He beleaguered
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Speaker 1: the cities of Arabia. He took their women, he took
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Speaker 1: their wealth as his own private property. And as every
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Speaker 1: stratagem of war paved the way for what 14 centuries
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Speaker 1: later would be the most prolific pseudo-religious cult in the world.
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Speaker 1: And let me emphasize something here. Islam not only advances
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Speaker 1: by sword. That's not the only way they advance. Historically,
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Speaker 1: that is the way they have advanced, but now they're
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Speaker 1: advancing through migration without assimilation. which has best been characterized
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Speaker 1: in memorable fashion as a python swallowing its prey slowly
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Speaker 1: and with a long digestion. Western politicians may be in denial,
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Speaker 1: but the late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was certainly not.
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Speaker 1: In a memorable address to throbbing thousands of Muslims, he
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Speaker 1: began to boast. He said the millions of Muslims already
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Speaker 1: in Europe are a certain sign that Allah will grant
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Speaker 1: Islam victory in Europe without swords, without guns, and without conquest.
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Speaker 1: And then he went on to say the 50 million
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Speaker 1: Muslims of Europe will soon turn it into a Muslim continent,
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Speaker 1: and that within a few short years. And 50 million Muslims,
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Speaker 1: said Gaddafi, is just the beginning. He had this in
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Speaker 1: mind when a law adds Turkey to the European Union,
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Speaker 1: there'll be 100 million Muslims or more in Europe. And
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Speaker 1: then Gaddafi went on to say something to the order
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Speaker 1: of Europe is in a predicament and so is the
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Speaker 1: United States of America. They should agree to become Islamic
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Speaker 1: in the course of time or else declare war on
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Speaker 1: the Muslims. Now, Gaddafi's words should not be cavalierly brushed
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Speaker 1: aside as many do. He was sadistic, that's true. But
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Speaker 1: he wasn't stupid. In fact, he understood better than most
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Speaker 1: that Europe is swiftly moving in the direction of self-extinction.
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Speaker 1: It's really a death wish. It's a death wish that
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Speaker 1: is born out of birth control and abortion and euthanasia
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Speaker 1: and same-sex sexuality and transgenderism and on and on the
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Speaker 1: list goes. In other words, in nations such as Britain
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Speaker 1: and Belgium and many others, the native-born culture is dying
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Speaker 1: out and a rapidly multiplying Muslim culture is, well, filling
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Speaker 1: that vacuum. Europe is not only dependent on foreign fossil fuels,
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Speaker 1: but now it's also dependent on foreign fertility. And that,
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Speaker 1: no doubt, is what Gaddafi had in mind. A civilization
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Speaker 1: that's becoming Islamic demographically will inevitably succumb to Islam politically
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Speaker 1: as well. No need to fly an airplane into a
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Speaker 1: building when with just a little patience Those same buildings
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Speaker 1: can be yours. Just think back to when the Muslims
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Speaker 1: renamed Constantinople Istanbul. When they replaced the cross adorning Hagia Sophia,
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Speaker 1: the most majestic cathedral in all of Christianity, replaced the
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Speaker 1: cross on the Hagia Sophia with a crescent. I was
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Speaker 1: just in Istanbul. I was standing in that once glorious cathedral.
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Speaker 1: And when I was there just a few weeks ago,
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Speaker 1: they were in a massive renovation project. Ataturk actually made
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Speaker 1: that a museum. And then later on, under Erdogan, it
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Speaker 1: has become a mosque. But when I was there just
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Speaker 1: a few weeks ago, I saw what was going on
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Speaker 1: in terms of the transformation of a cathedral into a mosque.
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Speaker 1: And as I was looking, I was pondering. I was
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Speaker 1: pondering the fact that what was once the very center
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Speaker 1: of Christianity is now robustly Muslim. All of this a
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Speaker 1: testimony to the reality that Islam is not a religion
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Speaker 1: in the sanitized Western sense. It is, and I've said
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Speaker 1: this many times, it's an all-encompassing social, political, legal matrix.
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Speaker 1: that has bred a worldview antagonistic to anything but itself. Now,
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Speaker 1: I'm not saying that there are not peaceful Muslims. There
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Speaker 1: may be millions of peaceful and tolerant Muslims, but that
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Speaker 1: doesn't mean that Islam is peaceful and tolerant as a religion.
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Speaker 1: The graphic historical reality is simply this. Islam is the
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Speaker 1: only significant religious system in the history of the human
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Speaker 1: race with a sociopolitical structure of laws that actually mandate
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Speaker 1: violence against the infidel. And that graphic global reality makes
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Speaker 1: Islam a religious ideology espousing terrorism as a permanent policy,
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Speaker 1: not just as a temporary expedient. Contrast that with the
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Speaker 1: life of Jesus Christ. How different. He elevated females to
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Speaker 1: ontological equality with men. He commanded devotees to love their
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Speaker 1: enemies and pray for those who persecuted them. He instructed
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Speaker 1: adherents to turn the other cheek to be peacemakers rather
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Speaker 1: than makers of war. And you recall when a disciple
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Speaker 1: struck a soldier with his sword, Jesus said to that disciple,
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Speaker 1: Put your sword in its place, because everyone who draws
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Speaker 1: the sword is going to die by the sword. Jesus
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Speaker 1: defended the downtrodden. He condemned the self-righteous. And above everything else,
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Speaker 1: he set the ultimate moral example by dying so that
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Speaker 1: others might live. I'm so fond of saying contrast is
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Speaker 1: the conduit to clarity. And the contrast between Christ and
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Speaker 1: Muhammad could not be more stark. nor the contrast between
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Speaker 1: Christianity and Islam. While Islam has historically advanced by sword,
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Speaker 1: authentic Christianity always, always, always advances through word. And as
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Speaker 1: far as treaties are concerned, we fail to remember the
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Speaker 1: Muslim principle of Hudubayah to our very own peril. We
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Speaker 1: need to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves.
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Speaker 1: We need to know that Christianity is ebbing in Western culture. Why?
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Speaker 1: Because Muslims are willing to do for a lie what
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Speaker 1: Christians oftentimes are not willing to do for the truth.
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Speaker 1: We have our health, we have our wealth, we have
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Speaker 1: our altars, we have our churches, and we are at ease.
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Speaker 1: While the growing threat of Islam pervades the West, Christians
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Speaker 1: must be awake, awakened from their slumber. We need to
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Speaker 1: share the gospel and change hearts because when hearts are changed,
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Speaker 1: lives are changed. And when lives are changed, culture can
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Speaker 1: be changed. We need to educate our children. We need
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Speaker 1: to make certain that the values that we have in
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Speaker 1: this generation are passed on to the next generation. Civilization,
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Speaker 1: as has been well said, hangs suspended from generation to
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Speaker 1: generation by the gossamer strand of memory. if only one
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Speaker 1: cohort of mothers and fathers fails to communicate to their
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Speaker 1: children what it has learned from its parents, the whole
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Speaker 1: chain of learning and wisdom and even of Christianity snaps.
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Speaker 1: It is critical that we teach our children and their
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Speaker 1: children the truths of Christianity Because there's an eternal purpose
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Speaker 1: in Christianity. It is a purpose that awaits the return
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Speaker 1: of Jesus Christ when everything on this earth is transformed.
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Speaker 1: When the new Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from God,
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Speaker 1: prepared as a bride, beautifully adorned for a husband, and
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Speaker 1: a loud voice rings out, the dwelling of God is
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Speaker 1: now with men and he will Live with them. They
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Speaker 1: will be his people, and God himself will be with
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Speaker 1: us and be our God. Then he'll wipe the tears
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Speaker 1: from our eyes. There'll be no more death or mourning,
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Speaker 1: crying or pain, for the older of things will have
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Speaker 1: passed away. Behold, I make everything new. I've mentioned this before.
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Speaker 1: I'm 76 right now. My sister was 77. I just
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Speaker 1: went to her funeral. She has laid up for herself
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Speaker 1: treasures in heaven. We must do the same. While there
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Speaker 1: is yet time, We need to labor for that which
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Speaker 1: endures for eternity, not just labor for that which is temporary.
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Speaker 1: I really appreciate all of you who listen to my podcasts,
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Speaker 1: who stand shoulder to shoulder with us in the battle
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Speaker 1: for truth, a battle that we engage every day at
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Speaker 1: the Ministry of the Christian Research Institute. Do remember our address.
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Speaker 1: Host office box 8500, Charlotte, North Carolina, zip code 28271.
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Speaker 1: Our address on the web, equip.org. And if you enjoy
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Speaker 1: our podcasts, remember to rate, review, and subscribe. Thank you
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Speaker 1: for tuning in to the Hank Unplugged podcast. Look forward
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Speaker 1: to seeing you next time with more. Thank you.