Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian cleric Zaghloul Al-Naggar, which aired on Al-Rahma TV on January 6, 2009.

Zaghloul Al-Naggar: I have written about the conspiracy against the Palestinian people, and about how this abominable conspiracy was hatched by Britain and France, in collaboration with several Western countries. In our days, this conspiracy has been adopted by the U.S. This conspiracy has many causes. The West wanted to avenge its defeat in the Crusades, so it gathered these dispersed [Jewish] communities – the scum of the earth and garbage of the nations – and planted them in the heart of the Arab world, thus saying to us: "We've returned, after you drove us out of this blessed land."

The Jews used to live a life of squalor and humiliation, and were fought and persecuted in Europe and the whole world. I lived in Britain from the early 1960s, and many stores and restaurants still had a "no dogs, no Jews" sign. The Jews wanted to escape the humiliation imposed on them by the West, and to shift it to the Arab nation. In this case, two goals coincided: The Jews' goal was to have a state, which would protect them from their humiliation all over the world, and the goal of the West was to avenge its defeat in the Crusades, by returning to the region.

This conspiracy began in the 17th century CE, when the Jews convinced the British to form the Zionist-Crusader Committee. This committee devised the general outlines of the conspiracy. Later, Europe, because of its hatred for the Islamic Caliphate, launched a fierce war of attrition against the Islamic countries, and the Caliphate eventually collapsed.

[...]

In the tenth century CE, there was a kingdom called the Khazar kingdom, near the Caspian Sea, which was called the Khazar Sea back then. This kingdom was ruled by a tyrannical dictator, who fabricated lies about his neighbors, just as Israel does today. Throughout history, the Jews have excelled at getting close to rulers. They got close to Bulan, the king of the Khazars, and convinced him to convert to Judaism. King Bulan converted, and made Judaism the religion of the Khazar kingdom. Most of the people who belong to Judaism today are of Khazar origin. They come from Mongol Tatar races, which have nothing to do with the Arab region, or with Jacob, Abraham, and Moses. Therefore, the Jewish claim to a right to this land is totally groundless.

[...]

The Jews have never been faithful to agreements.

Interviewer: Right.

Zaghloul Al-Naggar: That is how they are described in the Koran. They are not faithful to treaties or agreements. They depend upon American and Western aid. We – the Arab states, governments, and officials – made a huge mistake in dealing with this as a political issue, when it is, in fact, a religious issue.

Interviewer: An issue of faith.

Zaghloul Al-Naggar: The Prophet Muhammad said: "If [the enemy] treads upon even an inch of Muslim land, Jihad becomes a duty, and a child should set out on Jihad even without his parents' permission, a wife without her husband's permission, and a slave without his master's permission."

Interviewer: So are you calling to wage Jihad?

Zaghloul Al-Naggar: Absolutely. There is no solution...

Interviewer: But who has the right to declare Jihad?

Zaghloul Al-Naggar: Let me be clear. Jihad is the only way to resolve this issue. With the Jews, one cannot achieve anything by means of peace, or a settlement, or open borders, or diplomatic and commercial ties. They are devils in human form. Many people think that Judaism is a religion, but today's Jews are not really Jews, and have nothing to do with Moses and the Torah. They are a gang of evil thieves who stole this land. By nature, a thief who knows he has no right to the land imposes his presence by means of force, by bloodshed, by excessive massacres, by excessive killings, and by destruction, in order to prove that he has rights in this region.

Interviewer: True.

Zaghloul Al-Naggar: This is the nature of thieves.

Interviewer: Right.

Zaghloul Al-Naggar: It is inconceivable that we deal with this band of thieves as a state. We made a big mistake by treating them as a state. This is not a state. These are gangs of evil thieves and murderers...

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By occupying the Arab and Islamic countries, the Western world has managed to exclude Islam completely from the decision-making. All kinds of impure scoundrels seized power. The Arab world is ruled by the scum of the earth and the garbage of all nations. We pray that Allah will guide them. Either that, or that He would relieve us of them all.

Interviewer: Yes.

Zaghloul Al-Naggar: There is not a single Arab leader who understands or implements Islam.

[...]

I blame the Islamic countries as well, not just the Arab countries. I say to Iran: Where are your missiles? You raise the banner of Islam, but where are your missiles? Where are all the soldiers you parade in military marches? I say to Hizbullah: Where are your missiles? When will you use them, if not now? I say to Syria, part of whose land has been occupied for over 30 years: Where is your army? Where are your missiles?