A statement by Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi supporting the Libyan rebellion is being prominently feature on the home page of the Libyan opposition umbrella group. Several sources are reporting that Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi has said in an interview with Al-Jazeera that Western military operations against Libyan government forces are not a “crusade” as alleged by Libyan leader Gaddafi. According to one report:
The Muslim scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi, said that the operations launched by the Western forces against the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is not a crusade, has been demanded by the Arabs and the Libyans from the United Nations. This came during an interview with Al Jazeera, in a question about the description of Gaddafi operations against Libya as a crusade against Islam, Qaradawi said, “Is Gaddafi is the protector of Islam, he didn’t know any thing about Islam. Qaradawi wondered, Is Islam to kill innocent people in charge of their care, he threatened that he and behind them in every place and threatening to kill people, Is this Islam, where Islam is it?. Qaradawi, we used these and the Libyan people is used to them, because Gaddafi did not let them until the last night when the Security Council was looking resolution, he said to them in this night I will kill you tonight and what happened is deemed necessary. Qaradawi, according to the El Sabel Jordan newspaper, which published the interview, “We would like to be in the League of Arab mechanism to deal with such an order, but unfortunately we do not have and we eyed Authority an international not Arabs, as some say, and we appealed to United Nations, a global organization , what we do Every day people are getting killed with weapons they can not resist and this peaceful popular revolutions.
Qaradawi’s statement is featured prominently on the home page of the Libyan umbrella opposition group known as the The National Conference of the Libyan Opposition (NCLO). A February Saudi media report hints at a connection between the NCLO and the 2006 protests against the Danish cartoons:
The NCLO has called for mass protests to take place inside and outside of Libya on the anniversary of the 17 February 2006 uprisings in the city of Benghazi where protests against the Danish cartoons of the prophet Muhammad were transformed into mass demonstrations against Gaddafi and his regime, resulting in the death of dozens of protestors and the injury of many more.
Qaradawi played a major role in sparking the cartoon controversy be declaring a “Day of Rage” although he had never seen the cartoons in question.
An earlier post discussed a fatwa (religious ruling) issued by Qaradawi on live TV calling for the Libyan army to kill Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
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. 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.”