Friday Sermon by Abdelfattah Mourou

VP Tunisian parliament, Co-Founder, Ennahada Party,

January 1, 2016

New Jersey , America 

We, the Islamic Nation, are supposed to ask ourselves: “Where are we today?”

Your prophet left you as a power in this world, as “the best nation that ever appeared in this world.”

You built Academies, universities, and roads. You produced scholars of physics, chemistry, medicine, mathematics, and optics. You made discoveries for the benefit of Mankind.

For Severn Centuries, Islam provided knowledge and lore for Humanity. Where is your knowledge and lore today, oh Muslims?

Today, the Muslims are living in an era when everything they wear, from head to toe, is made by others. This cap was made in New Zealand. These glasses were made in Austria. This Microphone was made in America. This watch was made in Switzerland, and my shoes were made in Italy. The wool of this robe came from Britain.

My brothers, we do not own anything in our lives. Why do you raise your hands in prayer, asking Allah to grant “Victory to Islam and Muslims”? Victory over whom exactly? Why should you be victorious? Allah speaks about “evil deeds out of Ignorance”? 30% of the Muslims cannot read or write.

We cannot take pride in a single university in the (Muslim) world for producing minds that move the world forward. We are a nation that does not read or write.

Today is the first day of the New Year. With all due respect, has anyone here read a single book (in the past year)? We do not read, and we do not teach our wives to read. Our sons do not read either.

On Average, an Arab reads 0.79 books a year-that’s three quarters of a book while in Japan, they read 80 books every two years.

So, how can we expect to be like the Japanese? How can I expect to be like Americans? Who have learned to read and plan their lives carefully?

We, on the other hand, live our lives randomly, by whims and emotions?