During a recent Al-Jazeera TV debate, Islamic scholar Hussein Muhammad Hussein pledged allegiance to the Emir of the Believers Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and said that all the Arab peoples yearn for the rule of Islamic law. His adversary, Syrian-Kurdish politician Shirzad Yazidi, said that ISIS was a dark gang "straight out of the Stone Age." The debate aired on November 4, 2014.

Following are excerpts:

Islamic scholar Hussein Muhammad Hussein: Allah be praised, he gave me the honor to pledge allegiance to the Emir of the Believers, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, whether people like it or not.

[…]

Jihad is a duty carried out by the Caliphate. The seeds of Jihad were sown in Afghanistan and then the nations of the world attacked them and besieged them. The notion, however, had been established, and the Muslim youth adopted it when they despaired of the [Arab rulers] who sold out – in the Sinai, in Yemen, and now a scheme is being cooked up for Najran [in Saudi Arabia]. The Rub'a Al-Khali desert – some areas of which are forbidden even to Google Earth – has been sold to Jewish and American companies, so that they can secretly extract uranium and gold.

TV host Faysal Al-Qassem: Fine, but you didn't answer my question. How are we to understand the withdrawal [from Afghanistan], and its effects on other groups?

Hussein Muhammad Hussein: These are the first signs of victory. This is the first sign of defeat of the Crusader and infidel forces.

[...]

Syrian-Kurdish politician Shirzad Yazidi: These dark gangs, which accuse others of heresy, are straight out of the Stone Age. They are a transient anomaly with no future – especially this monstrous organization known as ISIS. This is the outcome of the failure of the wave [of uprisings], on which the peoples of the region, especially Syria, pinned their hopes for regime change, and the establishment of a new, democratic, pluralistic, and decentralized Syria, in which the various components of Syrian society could coexist.

The Syrian uprising, three and a half years ago, was not intended to bring in ISIS or Jabhat Al-Nusra as an alternative. These people are killing Syrians. They have been fighting the FSA in Idlib for the past two days. They are fighting the Syrian Kurds in Kobani and elsewhere in Rojava.

They have no future. They are an anomaly of history. These groups are nothing but tools used to promote agendas of various powers. Turkey, for example, is using them against us Kurds in Syria. This is an irrefutable fact. These groups are being used to ignite sectarian wars, in order to nip these revolutions and democratic change in the bud. These groups are worse and even uglier than the dictatorial regimes.

[…]

Faysal Al-Qassem: America, or the West, was defeated in Afghanistan. These forces were unable – neither by land nor by air – to eliminate [the Taliban].

Shirzad Yazidi: This is a question that we, the peoples of the Arab and Islamic world, must deal with. We are the ones who must overcome this dark ideology. This is a cancer, a Fascist movement. It is religious Fascism. [ISIS] is killing people, accusing people of heresy, and capturing women. They kill for the sake of killing. They have no principles, no moral values, and nothing to do with humanity. ISIS is a mark of shame on the forehead of all humanity. These gangs would like to take humanity back thousands of years in time.

[…]

Hussein Muhammad Hussein: Capturing infidel women is permitted by Islamic law. The Islamic State does not expect to be recognized by others, by people of your ilk – infidels, Crusaders, and Jews. They are not waiting for recognition from the people who sold Kirkuk to the Jews. Thousands of real-estate properties in Kirkuk are being sold to the Jews.

[…]

The economic situation of people living in the Islamic State is outstanding.

Faysal Al-Qassem: Where?

Hussein Muhammad Hussein: All over. In Deir Al-Zor, Al-Raqqah, and Mosul. They are living in unparalleled glory.

[…]

My brother, Islam functions as both a religion and a state. This state is under bombardment day and day out, and you are asking what it has accomplished?! Brother, leave us in peace, and we will show you what we can accomplish. But there has been an ongoing war against Islam since its inception. Can you imagine the Crusader and Jewish West and their lackeys, living on the leftovers of the Crusaders…

Faysal Al-Qassem: Go on without…

Shirzad Yazidi: He is talking like he is from the Middle Ages.

Hussein Muhammad Hussein: The Middle Ages?!! Back then, we had infinite glory.

[…]

Faysal Al-Qassem: What is the regional plan of ISIS?

Hussein Muhammad Hussein: To establish the Islamic State.

Faysal Al-Qassem: Where?

Hussein Muhammad Hussein: In all the Muslim countries.

Shirzad Yazidi: How will it deal with the world?

Hussein Muhammad Hussein: The world is divided into two camps – the camp of heresy and the camp of faith. The infidels are the enemies of the Muslims.

Shirzad Yazidi: Are you going to be hostile toward the entire world?

Hussein Muhammad Hussein: If the whole world is infidel, we will be hostile toward it. Be quiet please.

Faysal Al-Qassem: Just a minute.

Hussein Muhammad Hussein: The world consists of Muslims and infidels. We are here, and they are there. We rule the Muslim lands, but if you attack us, you will see nothing but war – you and your lackeys.

[…]

Faysal Al-Qassem: How do you explain the fact that a tiny group of fighters entered an area and chased away tens of thousands of soldiers?

Hussein Muhammad Hussein: This was a victory that Allah granted the Muslims.

Faysal Al-Qassem: It was all because of Allah?

Hussein Muhammad Hussein: Yes. In addition, there was popular support. The peoples that are not yet governed by the Caliphate yearn for it.

Shirzad Yazidi: The Arab peoples are yearning for it?

Hussein Muhammad Hussein: All of them, without exception. They yearn for the rule of Islamic law. Yes, the beheading of the infidels, lowlifes, and criminals.

[…]