Gulf media are reporting that Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi has called the ousting of former Egyptian President Morsi a conspiracy and called on Egyptian men and women to rebel against the current government. According to a report in The Peninsula:
August 31, 2013 DOHA: Eminent Muslim cleric, Dr Yusuf Al Qaradawi yesterday said ousting Mohammed Mursi as Egypt’s elected president was a conspiracy and blasted some Arab countries for supporting the Egyptian military.
Addressing a large congregation of the devout during his Friday sermon, the scholar claimed that some people did not want Egyptians and the Arabs to be ‘free’.
‘There are some Arab countries that want Egypt to return to the (Hosni) Mubarak-era, and they are supporting the Egyptian military, which wants to subjugate the Egyptian people.’ He said that the $13bn aid that some Arab countries gave to the Egyptian military would never benefit the Egyptian people. ‘The military claims that a majority of Egyptians are supporting them but Mursi became the president through a majority vote.’
He accused the military for not taking any action against Mubarak, who had ‘humiliated’ the Egyptian people for 30 years and said the military was responsible for releasing Mubarak under their watch. He said Mursi had made some mistakes, which including ‘not revealing the secrets of the people around him’ when he was in the government because he feared that it will be ‘scandalous’ for Egypt.
While describing the people ruling Egypt now as ‘liars’ and ‘unjust’, he lashed out against Mohammed ElBaradei for resigning after the military had hurt the Egyptian people and children.
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In July, the GMBDW reported that Qaradawi had issued a fatwa condemning the deposing of Mohamed Morsi as President and calling on Egyptians to support Dr. Morsi.
The Gulf Daily News is also reporting that Qaradawi has endorsed a Western strike on Syria in connection with the recent chemical weapons attacks:
Saturday, August 31, 2013 DOHA: A prominent Sunni Muslim cleric offered tacit support yesterday for any Western strike on Syria, suggesting foreign powers were God’s instrument for vengeance.
‘We wish we were able to take revenge for our brothers who have been killed … in their hundreds, but God prepares those who would take revenge for them,’ Egyptian-born Sheikh Youssef Al Qaradawi said in his weekly sermon from Doha, where he lives.
‘We ask God to punish them for what they have done. They deserve what is happening to them,’ Qaradawi said, referring to Bashar Al Assad’s forces, in a sermon broadcast on Qatar state television.
Qaradawi, chairman of the International Federation of Muslim Scholars, has a wide following across the Arab world.
In June, he called for holy war against Assad’s forces after Lebanon’s Hizbollah movement sent Shi’ite fighters into Syria to help combat rebels mostly from the nation’s Sunni majority.
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.
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. Qaradawi been banned from entering the US since 1999 and UK since 2008. Last year, authorities also refused him entry into France.