Qaradawi is the most popular and influential Islamic preacher in the world. His endorsement of the rebellion against Assad as a jihad will mean that many more jihadis will stream into Syria.
Qaradawi was on the Board of the Islamic Society of Boston, as I pointed out at Jihad Watch back in March 2004. If anyone in Boston had been paying attention to the implications of that fact back then, the Boston Marathon bombings may never have happened.
Qaradawi has said on al-Jazeera: “Throughout history, Allah has imposed upon the [Jews] people who would punish them for their corruption. The last punishment was carried out by Hitler. By means of all the things he did to them — even though they exaggerated this issue — he managed to put them in their place. This was divine punishment for them. Allah willing, the next time will be at the hand of the believers”¦.”
Qaradawi continued: “I’d like to say that the only thing I hope for is that as my life approaches its end, Allah will give me an opportunity to go to the land of Jihad and resistance, even if in a wheelchair. 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.”
In Islamic theology, jihad warfare is fard kifaya, an obligation of the community as a whole but not of every individual believer. Jihad becomes fard ayn, obligatory on every individual Muslim to aid in some way, when a Muslim land is attacked.
“Leading Sunni Scholar Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi: No Parental Consent Needed to Wage Jihad in Syria,” from MEMRI, April 7:
Following are excerpts from an interview with leading Sunni Islamic scholar Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi, which aired on the Al-Jazeera network on April 7, 2013:
Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi: The Jihad in Syria is now a personal duty incumbent upon all Muslims. This Jihad is no longer a collective duty. There is a type of Jihad that constitutes a collective duty, which, if waged by some, is not incumbent upon the others. On the other hand, there is a type of Jihad in which everybody must participate — each according to his capabilities. The Jihad in Syria is a duty incumbent upon the entire people. There is a group that has been fighting for two years and has just entered the third, and whoever is capable must help this group. Parental consent is not required in this case.