New Jersey Imam Reda Shata

New Jersey: Imam says ‘the psychological characteristics of the Zionist personality are not human characteristics’

May 17, 2025

Reprinted from Jihad Watch

VIDEO

Shata is no “extremist.” He is just reflecting Qur’anic teaching.

“And when we made a covenant with you and caused the mountain to tower above you, hold fast to what we have given you, and remember what is in it, so that you may fear Allah. Then, even after that, you turned away, and if it had not been for the grace of Allah and his mercy, you would have been among the losers. And you know about those among you who broke the Sabbath, how we said to them, Be apes, despised and hated.” (Qur’an 2:63-65)

“Say, O people of the book, do you blame us for anything other than the fact that we believe in Allah and in what is revealed to us and what was revealed previously, and because most of you are transgressors? Shall I tell you of a worse case than theirs for retribution with Allah? He whom Allah has cursed, on whom his wrath has fallen, and of whose sort, Allah has turned some into apes and pigs, and slaves of taghut. Such people are in a worse condition and farther astray from the sound path.” (Qur’an 5:59-60)

“So when they took pride in what they had been forbidden, we said to them, Be apes, despised and hated.” (Qur’an 7:166)

“The Prophet (ﷺ) said, ‘A group of Israelites were lost. Nobody knows what they did. But I do not see them except that they were cursed and changed into rats, for if you put the milk of a she-camel in front of a rat, it will not drink it, but if the milk of a sheep is put in front of it, it will drink it.’ I told this to Ka`b who asked me, ‘Did you hear it from the Prophet (ﷺ) ?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ Ka`b asked me the same question several times.; I said to Ka`b. ‘Do I read the Torah? (i.e. I tell you this from the Prophet.)’” (Bukhari 4.59.3305)

“New Jersey Imam Reda Shata In Friday Sermon On ‘The Zionist Personality’: The Quran Says Jews Are ‘The Biggest Liars Among God’s Creations’ – It Is In Their Genes; Forgery Is Like A Religion To Them; They Tried To Kill Prophet Muhammad 11 Times; Adds: ‘These Are The People You Want To Make Peace With?,’” MEMRI, May 9, 2025:

In his May 9, 2025 Friday sermon at the North Hudson Islamic Education Center in Union City, NJ, Sheikh Reda Shata, imam of the Islamic Society of Monmouth County (Al-Aman Mosque) in Middletown, NJ, discussed what he described as the psychological makeup of the “Zionist personality,” citing Quranic references to the Jews. He claimed these are not simply human “characteristics,” but “human genes” passed from one generation to another.

Shata said that according to the Quran, Jews are described as liars, “the biggest liars among all of God’s creation,” and alleged that they cannot stop lying due to a “lying gene.” He claimed a second trait is racism, accusing Jews of bullying “all of God’s creation” while labeling non-Zionists “gentiles.” He urged the audience to read the Talmud.

A third characteristic, Shata claimed, is distortion, describing Jews as the “masters of forgery,” and alleging that forgery is like a religion to them. He listed a fourth trait as deception, claiming that Jews attempted to assassinate the Prophet Muhammad 11 times. He asked the congregation: “These are the people that you want to make peace with?”

On February 2, 2018, Mohamed Moussa, the imam of the North Hudson Islamic Education Center and President of the Tri-State Imams Council, urged Islamic preachers and teachers to avoid language in sermons or classrooms that could be seen as incitement to violence. His comments came in response to several sermons, highlighted by MEMRI at the time for incitement. He also recommended that mosques only employ preachers trained by the Tri-State Imams Council on permissible content. Notably, on May 9, 2025, the same day as Shata’s sermon, Moussa delivered a reciprocal Friday sermon at Masjid Al-Aman, where Shata is imam.

Reda Shata: “From this sermon, you will learn unbelievable things. You will see that the psychological characteristics of the Zionist personality are not human characteristics. No. These are genes. These are human genes. These are genes that are passed down from grandparents to grandchildren.

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“First of all, the Quran describes them as liars. These are the biggest liars among all of God’s creation.

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“They are liars and they know it, but they cannot quit lying, because they have the lying gene. Lying is like a second nature to them. They cannot stop lying. Lying is part of their disposition.

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“The second characteristic the Quran uses to describe them is that they are racist.

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“They talk about antisemitism. Whenever someone speaks up, they accuse him of being antisemite. What Semitism? What Semitism? You have bullied all of God’s creation.

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“They call anyone who is not a Zionist a ‘gentile.’ What’s the story with these ‘gentiles?’ They accuse people of being antisemites… Read a book called the Talmud.

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“Their third characteristic is that they are distorters. They are the masters of forgery.

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“Forgery is a religion to them. They have built their religion on this.

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“Their fourth characteristic is that they are fraudulent. They are the masters of fraudulence and deception.

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“Prophet Muhammad made treaties with them time and time again, but he was the subject of 11 assassination attempts by them. All these attempts failed because Allah said: ‘Allah will certainly protect you from the people.’ These are the people that [you want] to make peace with?”