Apr 26, 2013 KUALA LUMPUR PAS spiritual adviser Nik Aziz Nik Mat today launched a Pakatan Rakyat campaign pamphlet carrying an open letter from prominent international Sunni cleric Yusuf Qaradawi, endorsing opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as candidate for prime minister.
Nik Aziz (in white robe) launched the pamphlet at the Pantai Permai people’s housing project in Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur.
Accompanying him was PKR’s Lembah Pantai incumbent Nurul Izzah Anwar, who is facing a tough battle to defend her seat against her challenger from BN, caretaker Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Minister Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin.
Nik Aziz’s launch of the letter in the heart of the low-income Malay area is a clear attempt to shore up Malay Muslim support for the embattled giant-killer Nurul, who had wrested the seat from former minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil in her maiden political appearance in GE12.
Previously, PKR big guns Anwar and party president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail have also spoke at ceramah and make walkabouts in Lembah Pantai to shore up support for their daughter Nurul
The letter dated March 2 this year was addressed to the people of Malaysia.
Qaradawi heads the International Union for Muslim Scholars, the highest body representing Islamic ulama worldwide.
‘I personally feel that Anwar, based on his history, experience, wisdom, struggle and perseverance from his youth till today, and the affection he commands from Malaysians, including the Malays and the Chinese, makes him qualified and most suited to head the government and hold the office of prime minister and lead the people of Malaysia,’ the Muslim scholar says in his letter.
Australian media had reported earlier that Qaradawi had written a letter of support for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on the eve of his announcing the election. The Lebanese-based Al-Quds International Institution (AQII), closely tied to the Global Muslim Brotherhood, had praised Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for his “continuous support of the Palestinian cause” and his visit to the Gaza strip in January.
Anwar Ibrahim is a Malaysian politician and leader of the opposition PKE Party (People’s Justice Party). Ibrahim was a Deputy Prime Minister in Malaysia under Mahathir bin Mohamad but following increasingly discord between the two men, Ibrahim was accused and convicted of sodomy in 1998 and was jailed until the verdict was over turned in 2004 and he was released from prison. He was re-arrested on the same charges in 2008 but acquitted in 2012 after a two-year trial. Ibrahim has many known ties to the global U.S Muslim Brotherhood including helping to found the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) where he currently serves as a director, serving as a trustee for the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) during the 1970’s and early 1980’s, and appearances at numerous Brotherhood-linked conferences. In 2011, he was a participant in the 2011 U.S.-Islamic World Forum, held in the US for the first time and which included a large number of individuals tied to the Global Muslim Brotherhood as well as their supporters. Media coverage on Ibrahim generally ignores this history which may be explained by a 2008 article from the Malaysian media on how Ibrahim has reinvented himself.
Youssef Qaradawi is the most important leader of the Global Muslim Brotherhood and can be considered to be the de facto spiritual leader of the movement. He is also considered to be the “spiritual guide” for Hamas and his fatwas in support of suicide bombings against Israeli citizens were utilized by Hamas to justify their operations. In 2004, Qaradawi turned down the offer to head he Egyptian Brotherhood after the death of the Supreme Guide. He is based in Qatar and has said the Qatari Emir has protected from being designated as a terrorist by the U.S. He has also reportedly amassed substantial wealth by serving as the Shari’ah adviserto many important Islamic banks and funds. Qaradawi has made frequent extremist statements including:
Predicting that Islam willconquer Europe through peaceful means.
Calling Hitler a divine punishment for the “misdeeds of the Jews” and that the Holocaust was exaggerated.
Saying that he wants to end his life “in the service of Jihad” by visiting Israel and throwing a bomb, becoming a “martyr” in the process
Calling for the collapse of the US if it doesn’t end its “unjust ways.”
MEMRI has produced two video compilations of Qaradawi’s extremist statements. The first collection contains Qaradawi’s statements about Europe and the US as well as about Israel and Jews. The second collection contains various statements by Qaradawi on social issues such as discussing the killing of homosexuals and stating that beating is “suitable” for some wives.
