The global Muslim Brotherhood is reacting to the recent bomb blast at the Danish Embassy in Pakistan, having first played key roles in fomenting the Danish cartoon crisis which many are suggesting is the motivation for the attack. Youssef Qaradawi, one of the most important leaders of the global Brotherhood, issued the following statementof condemnation:
Prominent scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi strongly denounced the bombing attack that targeted the Danish Embassy in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, insisting that bombs are not the way to respond to offensive cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him). “We condemned the bombing of the Danish Embassy and the killing of innocent civilians,” said Qaradawi, the president of the International Union for Muslim Scholars. “This is a terrorizing of innocent civilians and a violation of the security pact based on which westerners entered Muslim lands.” Sheikh Qaradawi, the president of the International Union for Muslim Scholars, stressed that violence is not the way to respond to insults to Islam and Prophet Muhammad. “We criticized Denmark over the 2005 publications of cartoon ridiculing Prophet Muhammad and the recent republications of the caricatures,” he recalled. “This was a provocation of Muslims and an insult to their sanctities,” added Sheikh Qaradawi….”We do not resist such insults with murder, explosions and aggressions on people and their prosperities,” stressed Sheikh Qaradawi. “We counter these insults through peaceful, legitimate and legal means,” he insisted. “Such bombings play into the hands of those who smear the image of Islam, its peaceful teachings and tolerant followers.”
However, Sheikh Qaradawi is widely believed to have ignited the global crisis when he declared a “Day of Anger” over the cartoons on February 4, 2006.1 It was subsequently revealed in a documentary film that at the time, Qaradawi had not even seen the cartoons in question.
Another Brotherhood leader to condemn the attack in Pakistan was Mohamed Al-Barazi, the chairman of the Muslim Association of Denmark who stated:
“We condemn this bombing and other acts of violence and extremism,” Mohamed Al-Barazi, the chairman of the Muslim Association of Denmark, told IslamOnline.net over the phone from Copenhagen. … Barazi suspects that the attack is linked to the reproduction of cartoons lampooning Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) by Danish newspapers. “We denounce the reasons that led to the attack, including (the production) of the blasphemous cartoons,” he told IOL. …Barazi fears the embassy attack will play into the hands of right-wing parties in Denmark. “This is an irresponsible act that harms the Muslim presence in Europe in general and Denmark in particular,” he stressed. “The attack will play into the hands of right-wing parties in tightening the noose around Muslims.” Barazi hoped Danish Muslims, estimated to number more than 200,000 or three percent of the population, will face no backlash following the attack. “Muslims have always called for dialogue to avoid facing such a situation. “Danish Muslims are planning a series of moves to show their condemnation of the attack and a genuine desire to integrate into society.
Once again, however, al-Barazi appears to have played a key role in fomenting the crisis. A Danish parliamentarian has describedAl-Barazi as:
… one of the most active imams during the cartoon crisis who falsely claimed on the Arabic television network Al Jazeera that the Danish threatened to burn the Quran, which led to even more riots in the Middle East. Al-Barazi thus had his cake and ate it, too: he gained legitimacy by having been invited to the residence of the U.S. Ambassador, while simultaneously inciting further violence in the Middle East.
Both examples illustrate how the global Muslim Brotherhood is adept at both creating a crisis and then profiting by appearing to adopt a moderate voice in reaction.