In his Friday sermon aired on Al-Jazeera TV, global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi delivered his most incendiary remarks on Jews to date, calling “Oh Allah, count their numbers, and kill them, down to the very last one.” According to a MEMRI translation:
But Allah lies in wait for them, and He will not forsake this nation. He will not allow these people to continue to spread corruption in the land. We wait for the revenge of Allah to descend upon them, and, Allah willing, it will be by our own hands: “Fight them, Allah will torment them by your hands, and bring them to disgrace, and will assist you against them, and will heal the hearts of the believers, and you will still the anger of your hearts.” This is my message to the treacherous Jews, who have never adhered to what is right, or been true to their promises, who violate each time the promises them make to you…..Oh Allah, take your enemies, the enemies of Islam. Oh Allah, take the Jews, the treacherous aggressors. Oh Allah, take this profligate, cunning, arrogant band of people. Oh Allah, they have spread much tyranny and corruption in the land. Pour Your wrath upon them, oh our God. Lie in wait for them. Oh Allah, You annihilated the people of Thamoud at the hand of a tyrant, and You annihilated the people of ‘Aad with a fierce, icy gale. Oh Allah, You annihilated the people Thamoud at the hand of a tyrant, You annihilated the people of ‘Aad with a fierce, icy gale, and You destroyed the Pharaoh and his soldiers – oh Allah, take this oppressive, tyrannical band of people. Oh Allah, take this oppressive, Jewish, Zionist band of people. Oh Allah, do not spare a single one of them. Oh Allah, count their numbers, and kill them, down to the very last one.
Qaradawi followed his call for the death of the Jews with an attack on the U.S. suggesting it was facing collapse:
My second message is addressed to the West, which collaborates with Zionism, and especially to America, which acts like a god on Earth. Nobody asks America about the things it does, and nobody holds it accountable for the things it says, because it is like a god in this world. It is America that supports Israel, whether right or wrong…
We say to the West, and especially to America, that Allah will not let you support falsehood. He will not let you support inequity against justice.
The USSR collapsed before their eyes. The USSR possessed military power, including a nuclear arsenal, but nevertheless, it collapsed. According to the law of Allah, they should collapse as well, unless they pull themselves together and stand by what is just. My message to the Muslim rulers in general, and to the Arab rulers in particular, is that they should be God-fearing with regard to their nation. The peoples have spoken, but the rulers have closed their ears, as if they cannot hear, and have covered their eyes as if they cannot see.
Qaradawi also called for a boycott against the “nation’s enemies” mentioning the Marks and Spencer and Starbucks chains:
Here in Qatar, we have a branch of Marks and Spencer, which regularly dedicates its Saturday revenue to Israel. We have a Starbucks, which serves coffee. They used to hand a sign on the doors of their shops: “We benefit our most important partner, which is Israel, we help in the education of students in Israel, we help build up the Israeli defense arsenal,” and so on. People go and drink their expensive coffee. Instead of paying 2 riyals for a cup of coffee, they pay 20 riyals. This Starbucks is Zionist. Why do we not teach the nation to make do with its own products, when possible, even if they are of lesser quality? This is the only way the nation will rise. My brothers, put the boycott against the nation’s enemies into action. Every riyal you pay turns into a bullet in the heart of your brothers in Gaza and in other Islamic countries.
No evidence to support Qaradawi’s claims about the chains could be found. An earlier post discussed a Danish documentary film that revealed how Qaradawi had never seen the infamous Danish cartoons yet nevertheless helped spark the worldwide crisis by declaring “Anger Day” on his popular TV show carried on Al-Jazeera.