Muslim Association of Britain praises Islamist antisemite Yusuf al-Qaradawi for his “profoundly positive impact” and “principled stances”
A group that describes itself as a “leading Muslim grassroots contribution for a fair and prosperous British society since 1997” has mourned the death of the antisemitic Islamist cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi.
The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), said in a statement that “Sheikh Yusuf was a renowned and greatly respected figure worldwide, referring to him as “a leading contemporary Islamic thinker,” adding that “In the UK Sheikh Yusuf has had a profoundly positive impact on the Muslim community and MAB had the pleasure of hosting him in 2004 when he visited the country.” It observed that, while visiting Britain, al-Qaradawi “met many high-profile British personalities”.
The statement further claimed that al-Qaradawi “was also known for his principled stances against oppression and dictatorial regimes around the world,” and that he “leaves behind an outstanding legacy of work that will continue to inspire Islamic scholars for generations to come.”
The Egyptian-born, Qatari-based cleric died in Doha this week, aged 96. He was well-known in the UK for his inflammatory statements about Jews and other minorities.
In 2008 the Home Office banned him from entering the UK for medical treatment amid fears that his preaching “could foster inter-community violence.”
In January 2009, al-Qaradawi said on Al Jazeera that he would “shoot Allah’s enemies, the Jews.” In a sermon that took place in that same month, he again spoke of Jewish people and called upon God to “kill them, down to the very last one,” saying that Jews deserved “annihilation”.
In a 2013 sermon, he said that he would not be attending the following year’s interfaith dialogue in Qatar if Jews were attending, as “their hands are soiled with blood”, and he also complained of a “Jewish plot” to control the Middle East.
He reportedly argued in a book that the Jewish state should not exist, Muslims should not be friends with Jews, and all Jews worldwide are enemies.
He also asserted that the Holocaust was “divine punishment”.
Al-Qaradawi had previously justified violence against Israeli Jews, and had close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. He was sentenced to death in absentia by a court in Egypt, and the Governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates also accused him of terrorism in 2017.
Al-Qaradawi rose to prominence in the UK over the past two decades following high-profile support from two-term Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, who condemned the ban on Al Qaradawi’s entering Britain.
Campaign Against Antisemitism shall be writing to the Charity Commission regarding MAB’s statement.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Yusuf al-Qaradawi said that the Holocaust was ‘divine punishment’, that Jews worldwide were enemies of Muslims and that the Jewish state should not exist. He condoned violence and was banned from entering the UK, notwithstanding protest from inflammatory figures like Ken Livingstone. This is not a man whom a UK charity should be mourning or praising. We are writing to the Charity Commission to launch an urgent investigation.”
