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Dony | 30.07.2004 14:17

Qaradawi visit exposes pro-Israeli lobby

The controversy surrounding the visit to the UK earlier this month by the eminent Islamic scholar, Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi, was highly instructive.
On July 5, the Board of Deputies of British Jews (BoD)issued a press release calling on the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, to “ban the notorious Islamic cleric [Shaykh Qaradawi] from entering the UK...We have every confidence that...the Home Secretary will exercise his powers to prevent people like Qaradawi from sullying our shores.” The press release also revealed that “several times over the past year the Board has written to the Home Secretary urging [Qaradawi's] exclusion.”
The Board of Deputies argued - falsely, though not surprisingly - that Qaradawi called on Muslims to have “no dialogue with the Jews” and “openly called for the killing of Jews.” In reality, Qaradawi’s remarks have been centred on Israelis who are illegally occupying Palestine.
Even the United Nations charter affirms the right of occupied peoples to engage in acts of resistance against their occupiers. Concerning Jews around the world, the Shaykh has clearly stated that Islam recognises the Jewish communities as a People of the Book who ought to be respected and dealt with honourably.
The Board of Deputies were evidently very confident that the Home Secretary would accede to their demands.
On July 6, the Liverpool Daily Post quoted the Jewish MP Louise Ellman (a member of the Labour Friends of Israel and also of the Zionist movement, Poale Zion) as having, “told Mr Blunkett in a letter that it would be ‘an outrage’ to allow Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi into this country to speak at a conference in London on July 12 on Muslim women’s dress.”
Witness also the following extract that appeared in the Jerusalem Post on July 7: “Protesting the planned visit, Neville Nagler, director-general of the Board of Deputies, said Qaradawi’s ‘abhorrent views make him an unacceptable visitor to this country.’ He was confident Home Secretary, David Blunkett, would prevent Qaradawi from entering the UK.”
Douglas Davis, author of the above article, was a little slow in catching up, as Dr Qaradawi had already arrived in the UK the previous day!
No wonder several of Wednesday’s British papers - undoubtedly urged on by the BoD - decided to scream indignation and urge the Home Secretary to expel Qaradawi. The Sun screamed, “The Evil Has Landed.” The Daily Express ran a story titled ‘An Evil Man We Must Ban’. The London Evening Standard called Qaradawi a ‘Race Hate Cleric’.
Even Michael Howard, the Leader of the Opposition, chimed in and raised the issue of expulsion at the Prime Minister’s Question Time in the House of Commons. The aim was clearly to embarrass the Labour Government into forcing Qaradawi out.
They had some success when Home Office Minister, Fiona Mactaggart, announced that she would no longer be sending her video message of support to the Muslim Women’s conference on the Hijab on July 12, because a ‘perfectly good cause had been hijacked [by Qaradawi]’.
Opprobrium was also heaped on the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, who has long been a vocal critic of Israeli brutality towards the Palestinians.
Livingstone was due on July 7, to open a conference at London’s City Hall of the European Council for Fatwa and Research - a body that Qaradawi heads. The veteran Zionist, Lord Greville Janner, wrote in that day’s issue of the Sun: “I greatly hope that the Mayor will not attend this meeting.” The Sun’s editorial called Livingstone “a twerp.”
The Shadow Home Secretary, David Davis, blasted Livingstone for giving Dr Qaradawi the “oxygen of publicity”.
Al-Jazeera - the independent Arabic channel based in Qatar, which has attracted American fury and American bombs - ran a story on the evening of July 7 from its London based correspondent, Nasir Badri, who said: “[This controversy] is an attempt to break sympathy with the Palestine question and the anti-Israel feelings. It is probably an attempt to push the British politicians, especially the British Government, against Al-Qaradawi’s visit and to embarrass the Government to make a decision that would probably harm its relations with the Muslim community.”
Spokesman for the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), Dr Azzam Tamimi, defended Qaradawi in a large number of interviews while the MAB issued a statement decrying the ‘character assassination’ of Dr Qaradawi and said the “smear campaign against Dr Al-Qaradawi is being orchestrated by the Zionist lobby who are evidently angered by Dr Al-Qaradawi’s staunch opposition to Israeli State brutality against the Palestinian people.”
Still, the pressure from the pro-Israeli lobby continued to increase. Much was made of Dr Qaradawi’s statements of support for the Palestinians who carry out ‘martyrdom operations’ - or the so-called ‘suicide bombings’. Qaradawi was characteristically steadfast and patiently explained that “it was the weapon of the weak” - those who had no other option left.
We learned later that also on July 7, a delegation from the BoD had visited Scotland Yard and handed over a ‘dossier’ of quotes from Dr Qaradawi, which they alleged incited ‘race hate’. Newspapers began to speculate that Dr Qaradawi could face prosecution for incitement in this country.
The next day, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir John Stevens, issued a highly partisan statement saying: “The anger that was created by the comments made by the individual is considerable. I have had personal telephone calls from eminent members of the Jewish community. I don’t want my officers on the same stage [as Qaradawi for an upcoming conference about children]. I, for one, will not associate myself with the comments this man has made in relation to all sorts of issues.”
We understand that several Muslim organisations have now written to the Metropolitan Police to complain about Sir John’s intervention.
Several newspapers now pointed out that the Metropolitan Police were co-sponsors of July 11, upcoming ‘Our Children, Our Future’ Conference at which al-Qaradawi was also due to speak. Sir John’s comments had placed the Met in an embarrassing position. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police now said that they had come to an arrangement with the organisers of the Conference, Da’watul Islam, that al-Qaradawi would not speak so that the Met could carry on sponsoring the event. Spokesman for Da’watul Islam, Hasan Mueenuddin, categorically denied such an arrangement had been made and confidently stated to several newspapers that “Dr Qaradawi will definitely be speaking at our conference on Sunday.”
But amidst all the noise and disinformation, one question stood out and refused to go away: what on earth had Dr Qaradawi said or done in the UK that was unlawful?
On July 9, the tide began to turn and the Independent in its editorial wrote: “There is no good reason other than media hysteria for the furore. Al-Qaradawi’s views may be unacceptable to many. But he is no Abu Hamza, bent on self-publicity, but a respected fundamentalist thinker from Egypt, generally known in the Middle East as a moderate who has denounced al-Qa’ida and abhorred the loss of innocent life. Until he says something that crosses the boundary between offensiveness and actual incitement to violence, he should have every right to attend a Muslim conference in London and espouse his views openly. Indeed, we could benefit from the opportunity to listen and try to understand the voice he represents.”
The Times published an article, which warned that any action taken against Dr Qaradawi could result in a backlash from a Muslim community already deeply unhappy with the Government’s war against Iraq.
The Guardian published an excellent comment piece from a member of the MAB, asking, “If Qaradawi is an extremist, who is left?”
Then on the afternoon of July 9, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that they had no case against Dr Qaradawi. The Met Police now announced that due to this development they no longer had any objection to Dr Qaradawi addressing July 11, Da’watul Islam Conference - and bar all the predictable outrage from the expected quarters – the pro-Israel lobby in the UK had been soundly beaten.

Dony
- Homepage: http://www.muslimnews.co.uk

Comments

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come on!

30.07.2004 14:37

Yes, i sympathise.

Yes, Chomsky (hero of the leftwing world) defended the right of an anti-semetic academic to publish evidence which casts doubt on the severity of the holocaust.

Yes, "If you truely believe in freedom of speech, then you believe in freedom of speech for those who you disagree with. If you dont believe in that, then you dont believe in freedom of speech at all".

Yes, yes, YES!!!

but

. . .can we please stop sticking things into the Zionist cage and provoking them? No sane person believe their anti-islamic ranting. And if we leave the subject alone, wont they just go away and retreat back into their "Daily [Hate] Mail" forums?

cant we be friends?


Qaradawi is an Islamofascist and will be eliminated

30.07.2004 14:44

Qaradawi on women and homosexuals:

Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Muslim cleric currently on a controversial visit to Britain, believes that female rape victims should be punished if dressed "immodestly" when assaulted. The 78-year-old Egyptian-born scholar, allowed into the country despite his open support of Palestinian suicide bombers and his extreme views on homosexuality, says that women can be guilty of provoking a sexual attack if their dress or behaviour arouses a man.

Dr al-Qaradawi's views on rape appear on a website called IslamOnline, which purports to give a modern interpretation of Islam. He is the website's chief scholar and leader of a group of Islamic academics who provide answers to questions posed by Muslims on moral issues.

One question asked: "Are raped women punished in Islam?" A panel, headed by Mr al-Qaradawi, replied: "To be absolved from guilt, the raped woman must have shown some sort of good conduct . . . Islam addresses women to maintain their modesty, as not to open the door for evil.

"The Koran calls upon Muslim women in general to preserve their dignity and modesty, just to save themselves from any harassment.

"So for a rape victim to be absolved from guilt, she must not be the one that opens . . . her dignity for deflowering."

The disclosure of Dr al-Qaradawi's views follows controversy over his public support for suicide bombers in Israel and his extreme interpretation of Islam on the subjects of wife beating and homosexuality.

Dr al-Qaradawi, who is based in Qatar and is the head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, has stated that wife beating is allowed under Islam. "It is permissible for him [the husband] to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts," he said.

The website describes homosexuality as perverted, abominable and a corruption, and states that homosexuals can be executed by either burning or stoning.

Qaradawi on Jews and non-Muslims

'There is No Dialogue between Us and the Jews Except by the Sword and the Rifle'

Prominent Sunni cleric Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi's July 2004 visit to London to establish the International Council of Muslim Clerics ('Ulama') prompted reactions in the Arab press worldwide, which discussed, among other things, Al-Qaradhawi's controversial statements and positions. On several occasions during the visit, Al-Qaradhawi made the point that those describing him as an extremist do not know his views. According to the BBC, he is reported to have said, "Do these people know me? If they are really after the truth why don't they try and find it instead of this venomous media campaign?"

However, on July 13, 2004, on his weekly program on Al-Jazeera television, 'Shari'a [Islamic Law] and Life,' Al-Qaradhawi explained his objections to including Jews in the May 2004 Conference of Islamic-Christian Dialogue in Doha. Accusing "the Jews" of permitting the spilling of Arab blood and of being oppressors, Al-Qaradhawi concluded, "There is no dialogue between us except by the sword and the rifle…"

The following are two columns from the Arab press about Al-Qaradhawi:

Former Editor of Leading Arab Paper: 'When it Comes to Political Matters, Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi Represents the Utmost Degree of Extremism'

In an op-ed titled 'Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi: Liberal or Extremist?' the former editor of the London Arabic-language daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, discussed the discrepancies in the positions expressed by Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi on his current visit to London and those expressed on his website and other venues:

"There has been an uproar in the British papers because of the decision to allow Sheikh Dr. Yousef Al-Qaradhawi to enter Britain, and they have described him as 'The Mufti of Terrorism' and 'The Propagandist of Extremism.' They have demanded that the government stop him [from entering Britain] as did the U.S.

"Now, what is the truth: Is Al-Qaradhawi an extremist? The truth is that with regard to [internal] social problems, he is regarded as one of the most liberal ulama [i.e., Muslim religious scholars]. However, when we are talking about general political matters, he turns into a different kind of mufti, and his record is well known.

"Perhaps the fact that his name is connected to the Muslim Brotherhood organization has made him look on the world from the viewpoint of the party [i.e., the Muslim Brotherhood] rather than from the reality of the Islamic nation, its capabilities, and its needs. One can say about him what the Saudi minister for Islamic affairs said about some of the propagandists and mosque preachers – namely, that they incite the youth to go out to fight while they do not leave their countries and do not allow their own children to do so."

'Al-Qaradhawi, May Allah Forgive Him, Has Been One of the Most Prominent to Call for War and Confrontation'

"Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi, may Allah forgive him, has been one of the most prominent speakers calling for war and confrontation. But he himself has continued to live in Qatar, in an air-conditioned house. I heard what Al-Qaradhawi said in his own defense against the attack by the London press, denying that he is inciting [and claiming] that he is conducting a dialogue, and that he is against violence and in favor of peace."

'What He Said in London is Not Consistent with His Words in Doha'

"However, what he said in London is not consistent with his words in [the Qatari capital] Doha, which you can all read in their totality, as they are documented on his website. Two weeks ago, he announced on his program ['Sharia and Life'on Al-Jazeera] that he is against the Jews and against conducting a dialogue with them, and that they are all iniquitous. The f ollowing are his words: 'The iniquity of the Jews, as a community, is obvious and apparent. Let me explain: The West, I can say about some of them [i.e., Westerners] who are iniquitous, and others who are not iniquitous. And it is possible. But iniquity on the part of the Jews is great iniquity, grave iniquity, iniquity that is incomparable and overt. Therefore, when it was suggested to me that Jews would be participating in the dialogue in the upcoming interview, I rejected this. I said no, we should not conduct a dialogue with these [people] while their hands are stained with our blood.'

"If Al-Qaradhawi had said that he was against the Israelis, then perhaps we would have understood the meaning. But he generalized and he said that it is permissible to have a dialogue with the Christians, and he criticized having a dialogue with the Jews. Al-Qaradhawi is free to have his views, but the question is, why does he relinquish his own statements for the sake of a visa, acting like others whose voices resound from our pulpits attacking the infidels, but who, when they line up in the embassies [to apply for visas], change their words.

"When it comes to political matters, Al-Qaradhawi represents the utmost degree of extremism, to the point that he recently ridiculed the Organization of the Islamic Conference, when he openly expressed his desire and that of his revolutionary friends for political leadership, saying, 'We want the ulama torepresent the Islamic nation [i.e., the OIC does not represent the Muslims].' He also demanded [that the Islamic nation should obtain] the nuclear bomb, saying, 'In order to shed this backwardness, we must produce a nuclear bomb, as did Pakistan, and as perhaps Iran is doing. However, we are besieged so that we will continue to be weak.'

"These are his ideas. And I do not know which is more truthful: what he said in London, or what he has propagated from Qatar."

Iraqi Émigré Writer: Will London's Mayor Become a Mufti, or Sheikh Al-Qaradawi Become a Marxist?

Iraqi émigré writer Hassan Assad , who resides in Sweden, published a satirical article on the reformist website www.elaph.com about the unholy alliance between London's "Marxist" mayor Ken Livingstone and the Islamist cleric Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi.

'The War in Afghanistan United All the Opposing Forces and Ideologies against the Common Enemy, Communism'

"The war in Afghanistan united all the opposing forces and ideologies [in the country] against their common enemy, communism, which had invaded the Muslim country of Afghanistan. Cross and crescent embraced, with the blessing of the six-pointed star [Star of David], to expel the Soviet forces from the land of the Jihad fighters. The Iranian ayatollahs and Saudi clerics issued similar Fatwas against the 'infidels,' the Red Army troops. Sheikh Yusef Al-Qaradhawi was one of those who recited calls to Jihad and urged Arab Muslims to go to the Afghanistan war zone to assist its people who were waging Jihad and to join the fighters who came there from the four corners of the earth to expel the invaders – the 'infidel' Marxists.

"The Russians left, communism collapsed, [and] the Muslim clerics and ayatollahs triumphed over the Marxists. The cross and the six-pointed star left the scene, leaving the crescent in the sky over Kabul – for it is a Muslim country, and hence [according to the Islamists] should be illuminated by the crescent. However, the crescent… waned into disappearance, and darkness engulfed all Afghanistan and its people."

'The Sheikhs and Ayatollahs Convinced Themselves that Hidden [Divine] Forces had Made Their Victory Possible'

"The ayatollahs and Saudi clerics imagined that Islam had made the Communists flee the battlefields, and that is how they described it to their followers. They did not know or perceive that it was their 'friends,' the Crusaders, with their modern, deadly weapons and the people of the six-pointed star, with their clever, well-planned use of the media, who purged the land of Afghanistan of the Marxist defilement.

"The sheikhs and ayatollahs convinced themselves that hidden [divine] forces had made their victory possible, and therefore they recklessly persisted … and challenged all who refused to enter the black tent [of Islamism], threatening them with destruction and disaster. Being accustomed to violating alliances and biting the hand stretched out to help them, they betrayed their former companions and shifted their battle to the house that had been their refuge and source of power.

"The Marxists, former foes [of the Islamists], decided to play the same card as the Crusaders [in their fight] against the Soviet Union, and formed an alliance with the people of the crescent – namely, the Islamists. The Marxists began issuing communiqués and organizing conferences and demonstrations in support of the terrorism and criminal deeds being carried out by the [Islamist] sons of darkness against the Americans and the entire West…"

'The Mayor of London Understands Very Well Who His Guest Really Is'

"Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi is the preacher who concludes each of his Friday sermons with a supplication to Allah to annihilate all those who do not embrace Islam. He has television programs all year round that have made him a star of the small screen, in a way that arouses jealousy in the hearts of the stars of Arab television series… That is, by virtue of his calls for Jihad against all those of other religions, he incites against every opinion that is different.

Campaign Against Islamofascism


Kettle is as bad as the Pot

30.07.2004 17:18

seems to me that current Zionist propaganda is aimed at trying to make out that some nasty bunch of muslims
are trying to take over the world. This falls in nicely with Bushit's phoney war on terror.
The word fascist is used in a abundance. I guess it's true there are plenty of muslim dictators and other nasties
in the middle east and north africa, most of them have been put in power by the wonderfull democratic western world. But that doesn't take away the fact that Israel is carrying out a pogrom against the Palestinians and that Zionist are busy doing their stuff all over the planet. Two wrongs don't make a right and however bad a picture the Zionist propaganda machine paints of Muslim extremists it will not change the fact that they the Zionists are ten times worse .. what is really worrying is that they are a rogue nuke state and no one seems to have either the inclination or guts to stand up to them.

bonkers