Yusuf al-Qaradawi

Yusuf al-Qaradawi (1926-) is an influential and controversial Islamist cleric, based in Qatar, and prominent on al-Jazeera and the World Wide Web. Marc Lynch writes "Hate him or love him, the man has a keen sense of Arab opinion -- whether he's following or leading it -- and has a proven track record of driving the debate."

He is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Antisemitism
The Anti-Defamation League calls him a "theologian of terror." On the Arabic satellite channel Al-Jazeera TV on January 28, 2009, Qaradawi told his audience, "I will shoot Allah's enemies, the Jews, and they will throw a bomb at me, and thus I will seal my life with martyrdom." Qaradawi has a long record of inciting violence against Jews and Israel. For example, during a sermon that aired

Israel-Palestine Conflict
He has declared Egyptian construction of a new wall to enforce the blockade of Gaza to be illegal and against sharia -- sparking a furious backlash from the Egyptian government and (widely mocked) counter-fatwas from official Egyptian Islamic institutions such as al-Azhar. Israeli pundits sometimes claim that Egypt's role in the blockade of Gaza is ignored, but at least in the Arab world this is completely false. Furing a July 2007 conference held in his honor in Doha, Qatar, titled "Imam al-Qaradawi: A Forum for Students and Friends," Qaradawi reiterated his support for suicide bombing and terrorist groups. It was attended by Khaled Mashaal of Hamas.

"I support the Palestinian cause. I support the resistance and the jihad," Qaradwi said according to MEMRI. "I support Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. I oppose the peace that Israel and America wish to dictate. This peace is an illusion. I support martyrdom operations."