Iranian media is reporting that Youssef Qaradawi has reiterated his support for Iran’s nuclear program. According to the report:
A senior Muslim scholar has backed Tehran’s right to access peaceful nuclear technology. Yusuf al-Qaradawi criticized the western states for their silence and inaction in the face of the Zionist regime’s nuclear weapons stockpile. At a meeting with Iran’s ambassador to Qatar, Qaradawi said: “As we witness western states’ opposition to Iran’s legitimate right to use civilian nuclear technology, they have kept silent over the Zionist regime’s atomic arsenal.” The senior cleric further urged worldwide Muslims to maintain and reinvigorate solidarity and unity specially with Iran in order to confront the challenges and defuse the all-out pressures exerted by the enemies of Muslim world. He called for the deepening of the spirit of brotherhood and solidarity among Muslims in an effort to confront the problems and challenges facing the world of Islam. The Islamic scholar highlighted the grave and cumbersome conditions in a number of Islamic states, specially people’s living conditions in the Gaza Strip in Palestine. He urged cooperation and consultations among Muslim states and nations to help resolve problems in Palestine and defuse enemies’ plots. Qaradawi is president of the Muslim Clerics World Union and a member of the International Al-Quds Institution Board of Trustees.
The Muslim Clerics World Union is likely a reference to the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS). A previous post discussed a July 2009 statement issued by the IUMS supporting Iran’s “right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.”
Youssef Qaradawi is often referred to here as the most important leader of the global Muslim Brotherhood, an acknowledgement of his role as the de facto spiritual leader of the movement. In 2004, Qaradawi turned down the offer to lead the Egyptian Brotherhood after the death of the Supreme Guide. Based in Qatar, Sheikh Qaradawi has reportedly amassed substantial wealth through his role as Shari’ah adviser to many important Islamic banks and funds. He is also considered to be the “spiritual guide” for Hamas and his fatwas in support of suicide bombings against Israeli citizens were instrumental in the development of the phenomenon.