The following item just caught our eye- a statement by a national correspondent for Atlantic magazine that he had not been fully aware of the theological anti-Semitism of Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi until he “started digging around.” Jeffrey Goldberg writes:
Yusuf Qaradawi, the Sunni scholar and spiritual mentor of Muslim Brotherhood-types across the Umma, has some pretty atrocious things to say about Jews. I was not fully aware of his theological antisemitism until I started digging around. I’ll post on this more once I finish reading some of the source material, but in the meantime Andrew is grappling with the subject admirably:
“(Qaradawi’s) anti-Semitism? Really, appallingly awful. And, alas, not that exceptional everywhere in the region. My hope, of course, is that this sickness abates in more open societies where the rulers do not deploy anti-Semitism as a tool to keep themseves in power. My fear is that it has become so ingrained in Arab and Muslim culture that it endures; and that religiously influenced parties will deepen it.
It is inexplicable to us that Mr. Goldberg was both unaware of Qaradawi’s anti-Semitism and that he had to “dig around” to find it given that the GMBDW, MEMRI, and other publications have been reporting on Qaradawi for years and we have repeatedly described him as a “virulent anti-Semite.” Mr. Goldberg’s admitted ignorance of Qaradawi’s antisemitism is even more mystifying given his background as an investigative journalist who received the 2003 National Magazine Award for Reporting for his coverage of Islamic terrorism and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists prize for best international investigative journalist. Mr Goldberg has also been a columnist for the Jerusalem Post. We view Mr. Goldberg’s admitted ignorance on Qaradawi’s anti-Semitism and his assertion that “digging around” was required to find it as symptomatic of the almost complete failure of the Western media to report accurately on the Global Muslim Brotherhood.
To repeat:
Qaradawi is 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. Qaradawi recently reiterated his support for suicide bombing in Israel and expressed his desire to die as a martyr “at the hands of a non-Muslim.” He has also written that Jews and Muslims will fight a cosmic final battle at the end of Time.
The GMBDW has been covering Qaradawi extensively in these pages for some time. Our coverage on him can be found here.