Ground Zero mosque Imam Rauf has praised Qaradawi, claiming that he has condemned terrorism done in the name of Islam: “The broader community is in fact criticising and condemning actions of terrorism that are being done in the name of Islam. I just came from a conference in Jordan, Amman where there were over 170 leading Muslim scholars from almost every part of the Muslim world, including some of the most important names like Sheikh Tantawi of Egypt, Sheikh Ali Gomaa, who is the Chief Mufti of Egypt, the Chief Mufti of Jordan, the Sheikh Al-Qaradawi, who is a very very well known Islamic jurist, highly regarded all over the Muslim world.”
Al-Qaradawi has also been praised as a “reformist” by Saudi-funded pseudo-academic John Esposito.
And yet here is Qaradawi endorsing jihad-martyrdom suicide bombings against Israel again. I guess his condemnation of terrorism is “nuanced.”
“Leading Sunni Scholar Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi Supports Suicide Bombings in Palestine and Declares: ‘I Am Against the Peace Process,'” from MEMRITV, December 17 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):
Following are excerpts from an interview with leading Sunni scholar Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi, which aired on Al-Hayat 2 TV on December 17, 2010.
Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi: […] According to Islamic law, in any country that is invaded and occupied by foreign infidels, all the local people should conduct resistance against the occupation, using all the means at their disposal. The jurisprudents said that a woman can set out on Jihad without her husband’s permission, a child can set out on Jihad without his father’s permission, and a slave can set out without his master’s permission. All the people should set out on Jihad. “There is no obedience to a creature in disobedience to the Creator.”
The right of the collective supersedes the right of the individual. if the local people are incapable of confronting the [enemies], who are stronger and better prepared than them, their neighbors need to help them.
All the Muslims must help, each according to his ability – with money, with weapons, with expertise. If they have no expertise in anti-tank warfare, they can offer their expertise in the manufacturing of missiles. In such a case, a collective duty becomes an individual duty, incumbent upon all Muslims.
[…]
[The Jews] are the most miserly of all people and the most protective of their lives, yet they devote their lives and their money [to their cause]. The Muslims worldwide must contribute to the regaining of Palestine. Palestine is not merely Islamic land. It is the land of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and of the holy places.
[…]
I am against the hudna, as I have written. I have debated this with the leading Islamic scholars, like Sheik Abd Al-Aziz Ibn Baz and the Sheik of Al-Azhar. They sanctioned peace with Israel. I am against the peace process. I consider this to be a false peace, because this is an Israeli peace, in keeping with the Israeli will, not in keeping with what we want.
What kind of peace is this? From the days of Madrid and Oslo to this day, have we achieved anything? We have achieved nothing but illusions.
[…]
The martyrdom operations which I approve are the ones that target the occupiers. That is why I sanctioned martyrdom operations in Palestine. When I was asked, in London, how I could permit martyrdom operations in Palestine, I said that they are a necessity, because these people want to defend themselves, the things that are holy to them, and their land. I said to them: “You want them to stop the martyrdom operations? Then give them Apache helicopters, planes, tanks, and missiles, and then they will abandon martyrdom operations.” They do not have bombs, so they turn themselves into human bombs. This is a necessity.
I permit this for the Palestinians, but not for those who attacked the Twin Towers in the US, because in that case, the passengers of four civilian planes were killed, who were not to blame. In what way were those passengers to blame? Many of them were Arabs or Muslims, and were from various countries, and had nothing whatsoever to do with politics. Take the people inside the towers – they were just employees in companies, and some were even Muslims, who prayed on Fridays. How were they to blame?
I only sanction martyrdom operations in defense of a plundered and occupied land.
I guess that’s what makes him a “reformist.”