The time The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated 7,000 Qurans to Muslims
Shaykh Hamza Yusuf grew up as a white Irish Catholic but converted to Islam, changed his name and co-founded Zaytuna College, the first accredited Muslim undergraduate college in the United States, where he serves as president.
Elder Ahmad S. Corbitt is a Black American with a Muslim first name who worked as a trial attorney and led corporate and government communications for a company on the Eastern Seaboard before he became a General Authority Seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The two men found themselves on stage together Tuesday for a dialogue at IRF Summit 2025, a major international religious freedom conference.
'If we can start off with why we agreed to do this?' Elder Corbitt said with a smile, prompting laughter from Shaykh Yusuf and hundreds in the Washington Hilton ballroom near the national capital's famous Embassy Row.
The two religious leaders swiftly found common ground.
'I think getting to know one another is very important,' Shaykh Yusuf said to answer Elder Corbitt's question. 'I think America is uniquely positioned to teach a lot of places about civic society and religious freedom. We obviously have our failures, but we do have something extraordinary here.'
The hallmark of the possibility embodied by America is education, he said. 'I think the more educated people are, the easier it is to get along with people' because the more they know, the more they realize they know less.
'The Quran says, 'As of knowledge, you've been given a very small amount.' There's kind of a certitude that too many people have that creates a very ugly world,' he said.
They firmly agreed that conviction in faith in God is vital, but also offered moderating ideas.
Shaykh Yusuf suggested it is a mistake for believers to be certain about their understanding of their faiths and that it is problematic to not 'allow for the possibility that somebody else might have a more valid opinion.'
Elder Corbitt said there is something important 'about a humility in our conviction that affords someone else the same right. One of the Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that, 'We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our conscience and afford all people the same privilege, let them worship, how, where and what they may.' That's a fundamental tenet to us and to Islam.'
Shaykh Yusuf expressed concern that American education is in decline, in part because of digital devices and digital addictions.
'I think religious faith, more than anything, is going to be the most important element in being able to survive what's coming because things are getting really difficult for people out there,' he said.
Shaykh Yusuf also said it his belief that the light of God is refracted through the prism of the intellect.
'If it's not refracted through that prism, it blinds, it doesn't guide,' he said.
'That refraction,' Elder Corbitt said, 'is facilitated, in my opinion and experience, most powerfully and clearly and effectively through service, through actions.'
He said he was inspired to learn that after the 2004 tsunamis devastated South Asia before he was a church leader, the Church of Jesus Christ went into Aceh Province in Indonesia and asked what the people needed. The first, grim answer, he said, was thousands of body bags. The church also provided new fishing boats and mosques.
'But the thing that most moved me is that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated 7,000 copies of the holy Quran to our Muslim brothers and sisters in the Aceh Province. That had nothing to do with proselytizing,' he said. 'It had to do with ...'
'An act of good will,' Shaykh Yusuf said.
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Politico
13 hours ago
- Politico
Critics say Zohran Mamdani is antisemitic. He says he's holding Israel accountable.
NEW YORK — As his New York City mayoral candidacy surges, Zohran Mamdani has come under fire for his defiant stance against Israel, which critics say crosses into antisemitism. The criticism, plastered across mailers funded by a super PAC backing Andrew Cuomo, took on a new life this week when Mamdani opted to do a lengthy podcast interview with The Bulwark during which he defended the use of the phrase 'Globalize the Intifada.' Now the issue of antisemitism, which remains central to the rhetoric in the mayor's race as the U.S. joined Israel in its waragainst Iran, is on the ballot next Tuesday — even as New Yorkers say their top issues are affordability and public safety. While Mamdani focuses his candidacy on the city's rising costs, he also repeatedly condemns Israel while on the trail, and throughout his adult life he has organized against the country's policies toward Palestinians. The 33-year-old democratic socialist would become the city's first Muslim mayor, and he recently teared up while publicly discussing bigotry he and his relatives have been subjected to. Cuomo has tried to center antisemitism in the race, all but labeling Mamdani and his opponents as antisemitic in a synagogue speech and at other times when it's seemingly irrelevant to the subject at hand: real estate laws, public safety and taxpayer-funded legal fees to defend him in scandals that forced his ouster as governor. Mamdani in turn has criticized Cuomo for failing to visit a mosque during his first seven years as governor. He also firmly corrected Cuomo's mispronunciation of his name while on the debate stage and said it demonstrated 'an inability to understand that each and every New Yorker deserves the same dignity.' Mamdani slammed a super PAC backing Cuomo as Islamophobic after it created a design for a political mailer that artificially lengthened and darkened Mamdani's beard. The mailer was never sent out. And he blames the PAC's rhetoric for threats against his life, including a recent car bomb threat that drew the attention of the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force. In a statement, the pro-Cuomo PAC, Fix the City, defended its mailers and attacked Mamdani. 'Every Fix the City ad and mailer presents Mr. Mamdani unaltered; the photos, policies and plans are his,' said Liz Benjamin, a spokesperson for the PAC. 'When you strip away his Hollywood tinsel, what you realize is that Mr. Mamdani has repeatedly embraced the rhetoric of hate. It is far past time for him to disavow his own calls to 'globalize the intifada', which many understand is an invitation to violence.' Mamdani has also responded to criticisms by touting support from Jewish New Yorkers, including a paid video highlighting their support. 'We're told by some that we're self hating; We're told we're traitors, not real Jews,' says the video, which stitches together statements from different Jewish New Yorkers. 'But what Andrew Cuomo doesn't know is that the struggle for freedom and justice is central to Judaism, and has been for thousands of years.' Mamdani has received the endorsement of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, a pro-Palestinian Jewish group. At the same time, leaders of organizations like the American Jewish Committee, the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty and the Far Rockaway Jewish Alliance have united against Mamdani, arguing his rhetoric breeds antisemitic violence and his election would make the city inhospitable to Jews. 'When someone spends years relentlessly targeting the world's only Jewish state through legislation, boycotts and protests — while remaining silent on the abuses of regimes like Iran, China or Russia —it's not principled criticism, it's antisemitism, plain and simple,' Sam Berger, a Democratic Jewish state lawmaker from Queens, said in a statement. 'His rhetoric, accusing Israel of 'genocide' and 'apartheid,' is not only inflammatory and false, it's part of a broader campaign to delegitimize Jewish self-determination.' The tension percolated on the campaign trail Friday night, when a pedestrian on the Upper West Side of Manhattan shouted, 'He's a Jew hater! Get outta here; this is a Jewish neighborhood,' while Mamdani walked by without responding. 'I don't expect Zohran Mamdani to be a Zionist. I don't. It's fine. I'm a Zionist,' the pedestrian, Steven Beispel, later said. 'But being against Israel, I think is harmful. Even though you think it's not antisemitic.' In response to this story, Mamdani's campaign noted his support from high-ranking Jewish elected officials, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and city Comptroller Brad Lander, who is also running for mayor and cross-endorsed Mamdani. The campaign pointed out that Cuomo has been sued by Orthodox Jewish community leaders for pandemic policies they say were 'blatantly anti-Semitic.' Cuomo has received support from most religious Jewish leaders for his primary bid. Mamdani is also proposing to tackle antisemitism in City Hall by increasing funding to prevent hate crimes by 800 percent, the campaign notes. Below is a list of Mamdani's comments on Israel that have stoked controversy, and how Mamdani has responded. 1. Condemning Israel after Oct. 7 attacks Mamdani issued a statement on Oct. 8, 2023 — his first public statement since the attack — that condemned Israel and its government, and said a 'just and lasting peace can only begin by ending the occupation and dismantling apartheid.' He spared Hamas, which attacked Israel the day before, any criticism in that statement. 'I mourn the hundreds of people killed across Israel and Palestine in the last 36 hours. Netanyahu's declaration of war, the Israeli government's decision to cut electricity to Gaza, and Knesset members calling for another Nakba will undoubtedly lead to more violence and suffering in the days and weeks to come. The path toward a just and lasting peace can only begin by ending the occupation and dismantling apartheid,' the full statement said. On Oct. 7, Hamas-led militants killed nearly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages, marking the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Within 40 hours of the attack, Israel immediately responded by launching airstrikes on over 800 targets into Gaza. Since then, Israel's military campaign has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, according to The Associated Press, citing the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The ministry said more than half killed are women and children. 2. Defense of the phrase 'globalize the intifada' 'To me, ultimately, what I hear in so many is a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights,' Mamdani said on The Bulwark last week when asked about the phrase. 'The very word [intifada] has been used by the Holocaust Museum when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic, because it's a word that means struggle.' The word 'intifada' directly translates to 'shaking off.' Palestinians have launched two 'intifadas' against Israel and its military occupation — the First Intifada, beginning in 1987, was marked by widespread Palestinian protests. During the Second Intifada, beginning in 2000, Palestinian militants conducted suicide bombings targeting Israeli civilians on public buses, restaurants and shopping and pedestrian malls. In response, Israel carried out fierce military reprisals. Mamdani's defense of the term — which many Jews see as a call to globalize violence perpetrated against Israeli Jews in the Second Intifada — was condemned by Jewish leaders. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum issued a statement calling Mamdani's invocation of the Holocaust 'outrageous' and 'especially offensive to survivors.' A web archive shows the museum did use the word in an online article about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising that was translated into Arabic. After the interview, Mamdani released a statement further explaining his position: 'As the highest profile Muslim candidate in NY history, I feel an obligation to speak out against violence and against bad faith or misinformed efforts to manipulate language in ways that only contribute to the division we're seeking to overcome,' he said. 'I've repeatedly condemned any calls for violence.' Mamdani added Friday that 'globalize the intifada' is 'not the language that I use,' but added 'the role of the mayor is not to police language.' 3. Support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement Mamdani has long defended the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which calls for consumers, companies and governments to cut ties with Israel in an effort to influence the country's policies toward Palestinians. He's also repeatedly dodged questions about whether he would advocate for the policy as mayor, and has avoided calling for the boycott or divestment of any other nation on the campaign trail. 'We pay our electeds with our tax $$$ to represent us but they go on paid-for trips to Israel,' Mamdani posted to social media in 2021. 'We have 3 letters for them: #BDS. Every elected must be pressured to stand with Palestinians, oppose Apartheid & assert that the fight for dignity knows no exception.' He also told the Muslim Democratic Club of New York that year, 'Speaking up for Israel comes with everything you might want, and we need to show that it's not that way anymore. There are consequences for speaking up in favor of apartheid.' 4. Refusing to disavow controversial streamer Hasan Piker, who has called Jews 'inbred,' after appearing on his show Mamdani participated in a three-hour-plus, one-on-one livestream in April with controversial leftist influencer Hasan Piker. Piker has been accused of antisemitism for repeatedly describing Orthodox Jews as 'inbred.' He also labeled a viewer who condemned the October 7th Nova music festival massacre as a 'bloodthirsty pig dog' during a stream recorded the day after the attacks, which was also criticized as antisemitic. Piker says the quotes are taken out of context. When asked why he appeared with the streamer when others have found Piker's comments antisemitic, Mamdani doubled down. 'I am willing to speak to each and every person about this campaign, and I've said that from the beginning,' Mamdani told POLITICO in April. 5. Did not sign resolution recognizing Holocaust As an Assemblymember, Mamdani was one of five lawmakers in the state Legislature's lower chamber that did not sign two resolutions condemning the Holocaust and honoring Israel, POLITICO reported last month. Mamdani responded by saying his failure to sign onto the measures was part of a 'blanket policy' in his office to not add his name to any resolution emailed to his office, in an effort to 'focus on the substance of legislation.' Mamdani said he 'understands this has caused pain and confusion for many' and said he voted every year for the Holocaust Remembrance Day resolution 'to honor the more than 6 million Jewish people murdered by the Nazis.' 6. 'Not on Our Dime!' Act Mamdani is the prime sponsor of the 'Not on Our Dime!' Act, which would effectively ban Israeli charities from supporting the Israeli military or 'Israeli settlement activity.' The legislation's stated purpose is to pressure Israel to end settlements and follow international law. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, who usually abstains from commenting on individual member's legislation before it's discussed in conference, gave a rare rebuke of the bill. Sixty-six Assemblymembers also signed a letter in 2023 calling the legislation 'a ploy to demonize Jewish charities with connections to Israel.' The lawmakers also said the legislation serves to 'attack Jewish organizations that have wide ranging missions from feeding the poor to providing emergency medical care for victims of terrorism to clothing orphans.' Mamdani touted his work to draft the legislation — a non-starter in the Legislature — as one of his top two policy accomplishments in his campaign literature for mayor. 'My support for BDS is consistent with the core of my politics which is non-violence,' Mamdani said in a May interview with the UJA-Federation, which his campaign referred to POLITICO. 'I think it is a legitimate movement when you are seeking to find compliance with international law and I think we have seen the Israeli government out of compliance with international law. ' 7. Led Israeli academic boycott in college During his senior year at Bowdoin College, a small private liberal arts college in Maine, Mamdani organized a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions. The effort earned strong disapproval from the college's president, whom Mamdani feuded with in the pages of the college's newspaper. 'The boycott refuses to discriminate based on citizenship, race or nationality and merely asks that institutional ties be severed with those institutions complicit in the Israeli occupation,' Mamdani wrote in an op-ed he co-authored with another student in 2014. 'In other words, a professor from the University of Tel Aviv can still present research at an ASA conference, provided that he or she does so as an individual scholar and not expressly as a representative of Israeli academic institutions or of the Israeli government.' 8. Minimized claims of antisemitism Mamdani has repeatedly said accusations he is antisemitic are politically motivated or efforts to censor him. 'The conflation of anti-zionism and antisemitism is a conflation that seeks to distract, delegitimize, and really, what it is, is an attempt to silence,' Mamdani said in an interview with the South Asian Avant-Garde in 2021. 'Antisemitism is such a real issue in this city, and it has been hard to see it weaponized by candidates who do not seem to have any real interest in tackling it, but rather in using it as a pretext to make political points,' he also said on the campaign trail, less than a week before Election Day. 9. Further condemnation of Israel following Oct. 7 Beyond his initial statement on Oct. 8, Mamdani mobilized against Israel in the week following the unprecedented, deadly Hamas attacks, by which point Israel had cut off the flow of food, fuel, electricity and medicine and had killed about 1,900 people in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. At that time, the Israeli government had also said it had killed 1,500 Hamas militants. On Oct. 13 — six days after the attacks — Mamdani asked his supporters to join him at a rally outside then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's house 'to speak out against the indiscriminate killing of Palestinians as we sit on the brink of a genocide.' While running for City Hall, Mamdani has repeatedly defended using the term 'genocide' to describe the events in Gaza, even as Jewish leaders object to the use of it as an inappropriate comparison of the Israel-Hamas war and the Holocaust. The Anti-Defamation League has said the term 'is not only inaccurate and misleading, but it unfairly serves to demonize the State of Israel and to diminish recognized acts of genocide,' while the United Nations' International Court of Justice has said it is 'plausible' Israel is committing a genocide. Mamdani also produced a stream of social media posts focused squarely on the plight of Palestinians in October 2023, and was arrested during the demonstrations outside Schumer's home. 10. Criticism of lawmakers attending Israel Day Parade, opposition to Israeli independence resolution Mamdani has criticized lawmakers' attendance at Israel Day Parades and promoted his efforts to thwart a resolution in the state Legislature which honors Israel's Independence Day. 'We have elected officials who are taking paid-for trips to Israel,' Mamdani said at a 2021 rally. 'They show up to Israel Day parades, and they say 'we stand in solidarity.' We want to let them know there are three letters that we have as an answer to what is happening in Palestine, and it's BDS,' he said, referencing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. That same year, he boasted about his efforts behind the scenes to stop a symbolic resolution honoring Israel. 'Every year they introduced this resolution commending Israel's day of independence, and this year, it was introduced, it was scheduled to go up, and I called the central staff of the assembly, and I made it clear that if this resolution were to come to the floor, I would speak in opposition to this resolution, and would speak about the reality of what was happening in Palestine,' Mamdani said in the 2021 interview with the South Asian Avant-Garde. 'The resolution has yet to come to the floor,' Mamdani added with a smile during the interview. 'I think just the fact of registering opposition that business as usual cannot continue any longer, and it is so, so important that we do not cede any ground to apartheid and to supporters of apartheid, and that we'd be unabashed in our criticism of it.'
Newsweek
16 hours ago
- Newsweek
Arab World Reacts to U.S. Strikes on Iran
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Arab countries, staunch U.S. allies among them, expressed strong concern over the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites as the United States joined Israel in attacking them. Newsweek contacted the U.S. State Department for comment. Why It Matters The reaction of Arab states matters for relations with the United States and for the wider question of diplomacy in the Middle East at the time of its greatest upheaval in decades. While Arab countries may seek to distance themselves from the attacks, however, this does not mean they would want to rupture the important security relationships that many of them have with the United States and President Donald Trump. What To Know Saudi Arabia, which was the first foreign destination for Trump in his second presidency, was among the first to criticize the U.S. strikes on three nuclear sites. Saudi Arabia said it was following the developments with deep concern and reiterated the denunciation it had made over what it had called Israel's violation of Iran's sovereignty. The sun sets near a mosque in Doha on June 21, 2025. The sun sets near a mosque in Doha on June 21, 2025. Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images "The Kingdom underscores the need to exert all possible efforts to exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions, and avoid further escalation," the Saudi foreign ministry said. "The Kingdom also calls on the international community to intensify its efforts during this highly sensitive period to reach a political solution that would bring an end to the crisis and open a new chapter for achieving security and stability in the region." Saudi Arabia is one of the most influential countries in the region as the world's top oil exporter and is home to the holiest Muslim sites. Predominantly Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, which was long at odds with largely Shiite Iran, has been seen as a potential candidate to join Trump's Abraham Accords peace deals between some Muslim countries and Israel, but this has been thrown into doubt by the current conflicts. "The current dangerous tension in the region could lead to catastrophic consequences at both the regional and international levels," said the foreign ministry of Qatar, which is home to the biggest U.S. air base in the Middle East and has played an important role in trying to broker a ceasefire and hostage for prisoner exchanges between Israel and Hamas. Statement | Qatar Regrets the Deterioration of the Situation with the Strikes on Iranian Nuclear Facilities#MOFAQatar — Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) June 22, 2025 "Diplomacy and Dialogue" The United Arab Emirates, whose leaders are also close to Trump, expressed profound concern over the regional tensions and the targeting of Iranian nuclear facilities. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) stressed the importance of prioritizing diplomacy and dialogue to resolve disputes, through comprehensive approaches that promote stability, prosperity, and justice," its foreign ministry said. Egypt, the Middle East's most populous country and a major recipient of U.S. military aid, expressed grave concern over the attacks. "Egypt affirms its rejection of any violation of the United Nations Charter and international law and emphasizes the necessity of respecting state sovereignty," its foreign ministry said. Other countries voicing similar sentiments included Iraq, Oman and Lebanon. What People Are Saying Saudi Foreign Ministry: "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is following with deep concern the developments in the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly the targeting of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States of America." UAE Foreign Ministry: "The Ministry urged the United Nations and the UN Security Council to uphold their responsibilities through serious efforts to address the region's long-standing issues, which now stand at a critical juncture and pose an increasing threat to regional and international peace and security." Egyptian Foreign Ministry: "Egypt reiterates its warning of the dangers of the region sliding into further chaos and tension. It affirms that political solutions and diplomatic negotiations, not military action, are the only path toward resolving the crisis and achieving a lasting settlement." U.S. President Donald Trump: "Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace." What Happens Next Despite their criticism of the U.S. attacks, the reactions from Arab countries could also be seen as limited in their responses — distancing themselves from attacks that could draw Iranian responses and prioritising dialogue and diplomacy rather than calling for any more direct action against the United States.
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
Socialist NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani once rapped about his ‘love' for Hamas teror-funding group ‘Holy Land Five'
Socialist NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani once voiced his 'love' for the five leaders of a notorious nonprofit convicted of funneling more than $12 million to the terror group Hamas. The former C-list rapper-turned-far-left-pol praised the heads of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development – known as the 'Holy Land Five'– in a shocking 2017 rap track uncovered by the antisemitism-fighting group Canary Mission, and made public in a one-minute video segment released Friday. 'My love to the Holy Land Five. You better look 'em up,' the Queens assemblyman – who performed under the stage name Mr. Cardamom – says in a song called 'Salaam,' which the Queens assemblyman said is about growing up Muslim in New York. Advertisement NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani (in middle) appearing a rap video for his song 'Nani' when he went by 'Mr. Cardamom.' Mr. Cardamom/Youtube The five heads of the now-defunct Texas based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development — Shukri Abu Baker, Mohammad El-Mezain, Ghassan Elashi, Mufid Abdulqader and Abdulrahman Odeh — were all convicted in 2008 by a federal jury of funding Hamas, according to the Canary Mission. 'Mamdani sent his 'love' to convicted Hamas funders,' the Canary Mission video says. 'Let that sink in.' Advertisement The quintet were convicted of supporting terrorism, tax fraud, money laundering and other charges. The sentencing ranged from 15 to 65 years in prison for each. In another part of the track, the Israel-hating Mamdani — who is polling a strong second in nearly all polls heading into Tuesday's Democratic mayoral primary behind only ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo — raps, 'No ban. No wall. Build it up. We'll make it fall.' The antisemitism-fighting group responds in the video saying:' No ban, no wall—that's an open door for criminals and chaos.' 'Zohran Mamdani stands with convicted terrorist funders and wants open borders,' the group adds. Advertisement 'This is New York City — not a sanctuary for terrorists. Zohran Mamdani. Unfit. Un-American. Unthinkable.' Curtis Sliwa, a Republican mayoral candidate, said 'it's alarming that a mayoral candidate has a history of praising Hamas.' 'New Yorkers reject hate and extremism, and they should reject any candidate who refuses to do the same,' he added. Reps for Mamdani's campaign did not return messages Saturday.
