More on Qaradawi in London, from the Telegraph (thanks to jonascot). Note the sneer quotes around “extremist” in the Telegraph headline. Evidently they aren’t sure he is all that extreme, but look in the story itself:
On the day that David Blunkett proposed tougher laws against Islamists – and far-Right evangelical Christians – who preached hatred of other religions, the Home Office said it was not right to keep Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a Qatar-based imam, out of the country on the grounds of his views alone.
However, Tory and Labour MPs said Mr Blunkett should reconsider his position and exclude the cleric. …
It is interesting to contrast Blunkett’s bland dhimmitude — his unwarranted confidence that radical Muslims present a version of Islam that can be readily demonstrated to be false — with the paranoia and hyperbole of Massoud Shadjareh:
“Religious extremists who argue for support for acts of terrorism in the name of Islam present an even greater threat to British Muslim communities than they do to others,” he added.
“The false perceptions of Islam that they promote fuel misunderstanding and xenophobia, potentially undermining cohesion and alienating British Muslims from mainstream society.”
But Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said: “In the light of the well-recognised institutional Islamophobic society that we have at the moment, this legislation could very well be used against Muslim communities, rather than protecting them.”…
And as for Qaradawi, those statements he made that the Telegraph isn’t sure are extreme are buried near the end of the story. But note: they aren’t old news. He repeated them in an interview broadcast yesterday:
In an interview for BBC’s Newsnight, broadcast last night, Dr al-Qaradawi said Islam justified suicide bombings.
“This is not suicide. It is martyrdom in the name of God,” he said.
He also described the suicide attacks that have killed women and children in Israel as a “martyrdom operation (that) is an indication of the justice of Allah Almighty.” …
Earlier this week, Louise Ellman, a Labour MP, said she had written to Mr Blunkett describing it as “an outrage” to allow the cleric into this country.
She said he had encouraged women and children suicide bombers, sought the destruction of Israel, believed husbands could beat “disobedient” wives and was a major shareholder in a bank alleged to be part of al-Qa’eda’s fund-raising network.
Peter Tatchell, the gay rights campaigner, said the cleric had advocated the execution of homosexuals and should be banned from the country. “He should be treated as a political pariah,” Mr Tatchell said.