In response to the wave of mass anti-regime sweeping the Arab world, prominent Sunni cleric Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi, head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, has joined in support for the protestors. On January 20, 2011, in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV he said that Allah does not remove tyrannical rulers, because it is the duty of the peoples to fight them, and that the security personnel who serve such rulers surely know that it is a grievous sin to protect them and to kill innocent Muslims in their names. He called on the Tunisians to continue their struggle until all members of deposed Tunisian president Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali's party were removed from power – except for Interim President Mebazaa, who he said should remain so that there would be no constitutional vacuum. He concluded by urging the Tunisians to free all political prisoners and bring back political exiles, and to reinstate Islamic customs banned by Ben Ali's secular regime, such as the wearing of the hijab on university campuses.
Al-Qaradhawi made similar statements to the Egyptian daily Al-Shurouq, referring specifically to the situation in Egypt. He also declared that it is forbidden for security forces to fire on demonstrators.