Gulf media is reporting that Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi has warned Israel of impending “God wrath” in connection with the Gaza flotilla incident and accused Israelis of having “killed the prophets of Gods” a likely reference to the age old accusation that the Jewish people were responsible for the Death of Jesus Christ. According to a report in the Gult Times:
Prominent Islamic scholar Sheikh Yousuf al-Qaradawi yesterday warned Israel of “imminent God’s wrath”, saying that its recent attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla was a criminal act requiring the Arab states to withdraw the peace initiative. In his Friday sermon, Sheikh Qaradawi said that Israel’s raid of the flotilla was a “barbaric and unexpected crime” that should not go unpunished. “When they (Israelis) had said that they would block the aid ships, we thought that those were just mere threats. Nobody ever thought that the Zionist gang in Israel would really attack activists and volunteers on board a defenceless ship carrying humanitarian aid,” Sheikh Qaradawi told a congregation at the Omar bin al-Khattab mosque in Khalifa South town. “But (then) we should not be surprised as they had killed the prophets of God,” he added. “Those corrupt Zionists are war-mongers. I believe that Israel’s day of God’s wrath is coming very soon because they have, tempted by the American veto and weapons, have crossed all lines,” he maintained. Qaradawi, who is the chairman of the International Union for Muslim Scholars, slammed the Arab nations’ stance on the frequent Israeli aggressions, saying that the Jewish state would not dare such attacks if it knew that this would draw a serious response and anger from the Arabs. “The Arabs are dead. There had been previous incidents which required them to cancel the Arab peace initiative, but they did not,” he said. He urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to withdraw from the so-called indirect talks with Israel and announce the end of the peace process. “I hope that the Palestinian Authority would announce that it was no longer seeking peace with Israel. We did not gain any thing from these lies that were called the peace process,” he added. The scholar hailed the “great Turkish stand” on the Palestinian cause as heroic, saying that Arab countries should feel ashamed. “We have to greet our brethren the Turks. Some people thought that Turkey had lost its link with Islam but the recent incident showed that Islam was still inherent in the hearts of its people,” he said. Qaradawi, who is also the head of the European council for Fatwa and Research, urged the Palestinian factions to stand united against Israel’s aggressions. “It is not acceptable any more that some Palestinians would go and shake hands with the Zionist murderers,” he added. He praised Qatar’s stance on the attack, saying that Qatar had announced that it would bear the financial cost of suing Israel for its raid on the aid flotilla, both before national and international courts. “Qatar is among the few Arab countries which strongly support the resistance movement,” he added. The sermon was followed by speakers who condemned the attack on the ship.
Youssef Qaradawi is often referred to here as the most important leader of the global Muslim Brotherhood, an acknowledgement of his role as the de facto spiritual leader of the movement. In 2004, Qaradawi turned down the offer to lead the Egyptian Brotherhood after the death of the Supreme Guide. Based in Qatar, Sheikh Qaradawi has reportedly amassed substantial wealth through his role as Shari’ah adviser to many important Islamic banks and funds. He is also considered to be the “spiritual guide” for Hamas and his fatwas in support of suicide bombings against Israeli citizens were instrumental in the development of the phenomenon. A recent post has discussed a video compilation of Qaradawi’s extremist statements.