Makkah Apr 17, 2014, SPA — Secretary General of Muslim World League (MWL) Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulmohsen Al-Turki received at his office here today, Secretary-General of World Federation of Muslim Scholars (WFMS), Dr Ali Qaradaghi, currently on a visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. During the meeting, they discussed issues of common interest including the spreading of moderate Islam among Muslim generations and protecting them from deviation towards extremism.
The World Federation of Muslim Scholars (also known as the International Union of Muslim Scholars IUMS) was launched on July 11, 2004 in conjunction with a visit by Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi to London for a meeting of the European Council for Fatwa and Research. Qaradawi is the IUMS President while many prominent individuals tied to the Global Muslim Brotherhood and/or Hamas serve as IUMS Trustees. According to the IUMS website, Ali Qaradaghi is the Secretary-General of the IUMS.
The GMBDW reported in March that Saudi Arabia had formally designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization and was among a group of Gulf countries that had recalled their envoys from Qatar over the issue. However, we also reported that the Muslim World League (MWL) had just concluded a global conference in the name of King Abdullah which included among its speakers two important leaders in the Global Muslim Brotherhood. We thought at that time it was possible that Saudi Arabia may not fully understand the global Brotherhood or perhaps were prepared to continue its support of its Western elements while attempting to limit or destroy the Brotherhood presence in the Gulf. However, given Qaradawi’s enormous visibility and prominent rolein the recent conflict between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors, it is unlikely that Saudi Arabia is acting out of ignorance. Rather, it would seem that for whatever reason, the Muslim World League (MWL) is being allowed to conduct itself outside of declared Saudi policy.
The Muslim World League was established in 1962 as a means for the propagation of Saudi “Wahabbi” Islam. Muslim Brothers played an important role in its founding and the League has always been strongly associated with the Brotherhood. US government officials have testified that MWL has been linked to supporting Islamic terrorist organizations globally and the organization has a long history of anti-Semitism.
