RECOMMENDED READING: “Al-Qaradhawi’s Support For Jihad And Martyrdom During Gaza Visit And In Biography Of Hamas Bomb Maker Yahya ‘Ayyash”

MEMRI has published a report detailing Youssef Qaradawi’s support of a Hamas bomb maker who was responsible for several large-scale terrorist attacks in 1994-1995 . The MEMRI report also covers Qaradawi’s support of Jihad in Palestine as well as his remarks during a recent visit to Gaza. The report begins:

During his May 2013 visit to Gaza, prominent cleric Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi, head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS),expressed his support for jihad and martyrdom, saying that he prays to die as a martyr. Also during this visit, Ibrahim Al-Madhoun, a columnist for Hamas’s mouthpiece Al-Risala, published an article in which he discussed an introduction written by Al-Qaradhawi in 1997 for a biography of ‘the Engineer’ Yahya ‘Ayyash – the Hamas bomb maker who was responsible for several large-scale terrorist attacks in 1994-1995.  In this introduction Al-Qaradhawi heaped praise upon ‘Ayyash, calling him a paragon of faith and an emblem of heroism. Al-Madhoun wrote that this introduction reflects Al-Qaradhawi’s important role as a supporter of the jihad in Palestine.

The following are excerpts from Al-Qaradhawi’s introduction to the ‘Ayyash biography, from  Al-Madhoun’s article about this introduction, and from Al-Qaradhawi’s recent statements in Gaza.

The biography, called ‘The Engineer and Martyr Yahya ‘Ayyash – An Emblem of Jihad and Resistance in Palestine’, by Ghassan Daw’ar,[1] was published in 1997 by the publishing house of Hamas’s magazine Filastin Al-Muslima. Al-Qaradhawi begins the introduction by explaining that people fall into several categories: those who are chiefly concerned with their own physical needs, those who are motivated by a lust for power, those who hunger for wealth, and those who have no goal whatsoever. However, he adds, ‘there is also a select group of people who do not make this world their chief concern or the ultimate [subject]of their learning.

Read the rest here.

The Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Watch reported during the visit that:

• Upon his arrival, he was greeted by the Hamas Prime Minister and called immediately for “Jihad to death” against Israel.

• Qaradawi was accompanied by the notorious anti-Semite and close colleague Salah Sultan.

• Qaradawi made comments in which he denied Israel’s right to exist and waxed enthusiastically about Hamas rocket fire into Israel.

We also reported that during Qaradawi’s visit, the  Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood held its first ever anti-Israel rally since coming to power, surely no coincidence and likely an attempt to avoid being upstaged by Qaradawi. The JCPA also published a nice summary of the visit.

Youssef Qaradawi is the most important leader of the Global Muslim Brotherhood and is 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 adviser to many important Islamic banks and funds. Qaradawi is the head of the Union of Good (UOG), a worldwide coalition of charities helping to raise funds for Hamas and is the leader of the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR), the theological body of the European Muslim Brotherhood.

Qaradawi has made frequent extremist statements including:

• Predicting that Islam will conquer 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 death of all Jews.

• Calling for attacks on US troops and civilians in Iraq along with Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hizbullah.

• Calling for the collapse of the US if it doesn’t end its “unjust ways.”