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."

Muslim Brotherhood

He is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, although he declined comment on a recent and controversial internal election, saying merely “I believe that the crisis ended with the election of the new guide. I’d rather not talk about this and I do not want to get involved in the Muslim Brotherhood issue after the [new] guide has been elected.”

Terrorism

In 2003, according to a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), he gave a theological justification for suicide attack. This was in the context of the Israel-Palestine Conflict and he reaffirmed the position in 2007. The British Islamophobia Watch has said MEMRI is engaged in a "witch-hunt" against him.

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." A 2005 MEMRI report, however, suggested that his position is more nuanced" "The battle between us and the Jews began when they occupied the land of Palestine, expelled its residents, and perpetrated all their deeds. They are the ones who started the hostility, not us...There is a difference between Judaism as a religion and Zionism as a political movement with aspirations and goals.

Palestinian Authority politics

He has criticized Mahmoud Abbas in the Fatah-Hamas struggle.

Israel-Palestine Conflict

He issued a fatwa against Egyptian construction of a new wall to enforce the blockade of Gaza, saying it was not politically motivated; if it was, "the same could be said of the counter fatwa issued by the Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar University supporting the construction of the wall." The Egyptian government was enraged, causing Lynch to observe "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."

During 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 Khalid Mashal 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."

Yemen

Al-Qadari heads the International Union of Muslim Scholars, which is sending a delegation to the Republic of Yemen to mediate the violence between the government and the Houthi rebel movement. He will lead the group, which includes Mauretanian bin Beya, Qatari Ali Al-Qurdaghi, Saudi Salman Awdah, Omani Mufti Ahmed bin Hamad Al-Khalili and Iranian Shiite Mohamed Ali Taskhiri. Lynch finds this significant, as it is an apparent rejection of what he calls "Saudi propaganda campaign portraying the Houthis as an Iranian proxy and a terrorist movement (propaganda for which even well-known Yemen experts such as Fred Kagan appear to have fallen). For Qaradawi (and Saudi Islamists like Awdah) to publicly intervene in favor of mediation with the Houthis rather than war suggests that important strands of the Arab public reject the official Saudi-Yemeni position. Americans keen on intervening in Yemen should pay careful attention to how their actions might be viewed in the region. "