Sheikh Qaradawi - A Key Figure in the Muslim World
Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi is a prominent Qatar-based Islamist who supports
hardcore terrorism, yet knows how to reach out to liberal, non-Muslim
audiences when he chooses
Shammai Fishman (11/2/2007)
http://www.omedia.org/Show_Article.asp?DynamicContentID=2684
<http://www.omedia.org/Show_Article.asp?DynamicContentID=2684&MenuID=726>
&MenuID=726
Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an influential sheikh recently turned 81, is a
leading player in the Islamic arena in the Middle East, Europe and globally.
Hundreds of senior members of the Islamic mainstream gathered in Qatar last
July for a special event in his honor. Qaradawi has lived in Qatar for over
40 years after leaving Egypt due to his activity in the ranks of the Muslim
Brotherhood.
His statements and activities are watched by researchers and institutes
around the world. His immediate importance in the eyes of Israeli observers
is his activity as a spiritual leader for Islamic movements affiliated with
the Muslim Brotherhood, such as Hamas. Qaradawi is famous for issuing fatwas
that support Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel and attacks against US forces
is Iraq. According to MEMRI, in December 2005 he called for "the
continuation of resistance in Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon and in any country
conquered by foreigners." Professor David Buqay of the University of Haifa
gives a thorough account of Qaradawi's remarks on martyrdom in his new book,
>From Muhammad to Bin Laden.
On September 30, 2005 Denmark's largest daily newspaper, Jyllands-Posten,
published a series of 12 provocative cartoons of Muhammad. Several months
later major protest demonstrations were organized all over the Muslim world.
Qaradawi was among those who fanned the flames by leading an offensive
against the Danes. He called for the boycotting of products from countries
that published the cartoons, refused the Danes' apologies and called for an
international "day of rage."
Qaradawi is the chairman of the European Council for Fatwa and Research
(ECFR), a body composed of Islamic jurists from Europe and the Middle East
whose aim is to issue fatwas which solve the unique problems Muslims face in
Europe, and to represent "political Islam." Qaradawi directly or indirectly
controls the contents of some leading media outlets, including Al Jazeera
television and at least four influential websites. During the cartoon affair
Qaradawi appeared on Al Jazeera and incited the masses.
Besides his popular and organizational activity Qaradawi has written over a
hundred books on various topics of Islamic law and thought, which seemingly
have no immediate literary value. However, their value lies in the fact that
they represent the deep ideology behind his activities.
In the introduction to his three-volume autobiography Qaradawi explains why
writing about himself is "self-exoneration," which is condemned by the Koran
(53:32) or is equivalent to boasting about oneself. He says he is disgusted
by the use of the word "I," which is so common in autobiographies - "I said,
I did." However, in the very same introduction he explains why he decided to
write a book about himself after all, saying people told him that since his
life story is worthy of being studied by following generations, "If you
don't write it with your own pen others would try, and the result would not
be the same as if you had done it."
This introduction provides a good example of two important character traits
shown by Qaradawi: a large number of contradictory statements and a
personality that could be described as attention-seeking. His office
manager, Akram Kassab, who is probably aware of those claims against
Qaradawi, opens his article of October 3 as follows: "There is a person who
enters this world and leaves without anybody noticing him.There is a person
who fills up the world with useless noise.And there is a person who occupies
people anywhere he parks or departs and he is like the blessed rain which is
useful anywhere it falls, and I think that Qaradawi belongs to the last
category."
The richest and most varied of the websites under Qaradawi's supervision is
<http://www.islamonline.net/> http://www.islamonline.net/. As site director
he decided to deal with the cartoon crisis by launching a website in
European languages which would run under his supervision and provide
information about the Prophet and Islam as a way of life.
This desire by Qaradawi reflects the doctrine of da'wa, the Islamic
religious call. In one of his books Qaradawi writes that in the
inter-religious dialogue there is no equality, but there is da'wa, meaning
Muslims' call to non-Muslims to join Islam. This lack of equality is a
result, according to Qaradawi, of Islam being above any other religion. He
calls to perform the da'wa in the spirit of his interpretation of the
Koranic verse: "Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and
beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most
gracious" (16:125). The implications are that when carrying out da'wa in
each and every nation the method should be adapted to the target group. That
is why some Islamic preachers in the Unites States address non-Muslim
liberal audiences and speak in terms of social science theories, human
rights and anti-war ideologies. According to Qaradawi, Muslims could
cooperate with non-Muslims to promote causes that coincide with Islam, such
as combating promiscuity and aiding Third World countries.
US-based Jordanian liberal intellectual Shakir Nabulsi notes that there is
not one Qaradawi, but two. The first Qaradawi speaks in a moderate voice to
a European audience about spreading Islam in the West in peaceful ways. The
second Qaradawi speaks in a militant voice to a Middle Eastern audience
about jihad and "resistance." Qaradawi claims to promote "mainstream" Islam
between the liberals and the radicals and calls it wasatiyya (centrism). On
Islamonline he wrote: "Centrism is the most apparent characteristic of Islam
and is also called 'balance.' The meaning of the word is a middle way or an
equilibrium between two parallel or opposite dimensions.such as Divine and
human, material and spiritual, worldly matters and those of the Afterworld,
Koranic revelation and the intellect, focusing on the past and the future,
the individual and the public, stagnation and change, etc."
Wasatiyya was studied in depth by Dr. Sagi Polka of Ben Gurion University.
He reached the conclusion that wasatiyya is a mere word game, an attempt to
have your cake and eat it too, and that Qaradawi chooses soft words for an
extreme ideology. This way, in the ideological question of non-Muslims in
Muslim lands, wasatiyya thinkers refrain from using terms that demean
non-Muslims, such as jizya (exemption tax) or ahl al-dhima (people of the
covenant). However, Polka holds that this contains no conceptual change
toward non-Muslim minorities since the future Islamic state is supposed to
be run by Islamic law or sharia, and sharia includes discriminatory laws
against non-Muslims such as the jizya, the special tax which is collected
while demeaning them (Koran 9:29).
In the European arena Qaradawi approves of extreme leniencies, such as that
a female convert to Islam might continue to live with her non-Muslim
husband, which is totally prohibited by Islamic legal tradition. This
appears to be a sign of openness and advancement, but the real intent is
only to boost conversion to Islam in the West since women would not have to
face the fear of separating from their husbands if they convert to Islam.
Qaradawi's goal is spreading Islam, Islamization and helping settle Muslims
in more and more places in the West. This idea is mentioned in his writings
under the title of fiqh al-aqalliyyat (minority jurisprudence), a doctrine
which he developed together with American Sheikh Dr. Taha Jabir al-Alwani.
Another pertinent issue is Qaradawi's approach to Shiite Islam. Historically
Islam has been split since the beginning between a Shiite minority and a
Sunni majority over the issue of who is worthy of inheriting Muhammad's
position and becoming the Caliph. The supporters of Ali, the cousin of
Muhammad, who were on the defeated side, eventually formed the Shiite.
According to estimates Shiite Muslims comprise one-eighth of the total
Muslim population and live mostly in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Pakistan, to
which we could add Bahrain and Azerbaijan. In our times, despite centuries
of rivalry between Shiite and Sunni, there has been a change of approach in
certain circles and Shiite and Sunni have joined forces to fight Israel and
the West.
For example the leadership of Sunni Hamas visit Shiite Tehran and receive
aid, weapons and support. Qaradawi, a Sunni, is part of this trend. In his
writings he likes to point out the similarities between Shiite and Sunni and
stress that Shiite is a legitimate part of the Islamic nation. Sunni Islamic
law is geographically divided into four legal schools. Qaradawi calls for
recognition of Shiite as an additional school and not a separate religious
sect. Though Qaradawi called the Sunnis to support Shiite Hizbullah in its
war against Israel, he is against Shiite proselytizing in traditionally
Sunni countries such as Egypt.
Despite his age Qaradawi plays an active role in starting organizations,
participates in conferences and appears on television. Qaradawi has
tremendous influence on Muslims in the Middle East and worldwide, and will
probably continue to be a central figure for research organizations and
journalists.
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