MEMRI has published excerpts from an interview with Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi in which he reiterates his support for suicide bombings in Israel. The MEMRI translation begins:
Following are excerpts from an interview with leading Sunni scholar Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi, which aired on Al-Hayat 2 TV on December 17, 2010.
Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi: I conduct dialogue with the Christians, but if the Jews join the dialogue, I say “no” – until they lift their injustice from upon us.
[…]
I am not against Judaism. I am not anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish. How can I be anti-Semitic, when I am Semitic myself? I am an Arab, and it is well known that the Arabs are Semites. From the racial perspective, the Jews are our cousins. We are the descendants of Ishmael, and they are the descendants of Jacob [sic]. We Muslims are not racists.
[…]
Islam maintains relations with Jews and Christians, on condition that they are not hostile to the Muslims. A Muslim man cannot marry an Israeli woman. He can marry a woman from among the [Jews] who are against Israel, but not a Jewish Israeli woman, or a Jewish woman who supports Israel.
[…]
Some people believe that we should fight and kill any infidel. This is not true. We fight only those who fight us.
Read the rest here.
Qaradawi, a virulent anti-Semite 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. A recent post has discussed a video compilation of Qaradawi’s extremist statements.