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| Arabia |
| Al-Qaradawi still endorses suicide bombings |
| 2005-08-28 |
| A controversial Islamic scholar who is backed by London Mayor Ken Livingstone has said it is a duty of Muslims in Iraq to become suicide bombers. Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, speaking at a conference of Islamic scholars in Egypt last Monday, criticised a fellow scholar who said the Koran categorically forbids suicide but an individual has the right to take such action. Al-Qaradawi said: 'I think that saying it is a legitimate right in Palestine and Iraq is not enough because a right is something that can be relinquished. It is a duty... 'The truth is we should refrain from raising this issue because doubting it is like joining the Zionists and Americans in condemning our brothers in Hamas, the Jihad, the Islamic factions and the resistance factions in Iraq.' Although Al-Qaradawi goes on to condemn the terrorist attacks in London, he also said: 'We cannot say we pat these misguided boys on the back but we do want to listen to them. They have gone astray so we want to treat them in a way that will set them straight... we want to treat them the way clerics treat their students, the way fathers treat their sons.' His comments will be certain to stir up controversy. Last week Livingstone said he would take the government to court if they tried to ban Al-Qaradawi from coming to Britain under its new anti-terrorist laws. Al-Qaradawi has supported suicide attacks on civilians in Israel but this appears to be the first time he has openly supports such terrorist attacks in Iraq. The latest statements from Al-Qaradawi come as a Saudi Islamic activist in London has decided to shut down his controversial website. Mohammed al-Massari, the Saudi dissident whose site featured videos of suicide bombings in Israel and Iraq, and anti-Western and pro-al-Qaeda propaganda, posted an internet 'obituary' announcing his site had been a victim of the 'murder of freedom of opinion and expression by the oppressive regime lead by Tony Blair, the liar and well-known war criminal.' Al-Massari, 58, who took refuge in London more than 10 years ago, said his website had been 'open to anyone who wanted to post a message,' suggesting he did not necessarily endorse them all. He said he had temporarily shut the site while awaiting clarification on his status in Britain. 'Unfortunately, we had to suspend big parts of our electronic site until this inquisition blows over or until I move to a country that allows an acceptable degree of free speech,' Al-Massari said. Last Wednesday, the government said it was prepared to act within days against 'a number of names' to either deport or bar them from the country under new anti-terrorism measures. The identities of those facing this action was not revealed, but among them was expected to be Palestinian cleric Abu Qatada, who has been called Osama bin Laden's spiritual ambassador in Europe, and Saad al-Faqih, a Saudi accused of supporting Bin Laden's terror network. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 What will have to occur before Red Ken and George Galloway are seen hanging by their necks off London Bridge? They are amongst the chief terrorist pimps in Britain. I guess the clue bat of reality takes a lot of whacks, before people have had enough. |
| Posted by: VRWconspiracy 2005-08-28 19:31 |