Mayor of London gives VIP treatment to Imam

[Semsem]

http://www.maarivinternational.com/i...articleID=9566

London mayor invites Sheik al-Qardawi to convention

Ken Livingston invites al-Qardawi as guest speaker in convention, despite latter’s anti-Semitic remarks and support of suicide bombings.
NRG Maariv


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London Mayor Ken Livingston has invited Sheik Yusuf al-Qardawi to address a convention, despite the latter’s anti-Semitic remarks and his support of suicide bombings.

Livingston, who is considered a blatant critic of Israel’s policy, has organized a convention of the European Fatwa (Moslem decree) Research Council, which was held at London City Hall. Al-Qardawi was invited as a guest speaker.

In an interview with the BBC, the Egyptian-born sheik has said, “Suicide bombings sanctify God. Allah gave the weak what the strong do not possess – the ability to turn the body into a human bomb, just as the Palestinians are doing”.

When asked about his opinion regarding the murder of women and children, the sheik replied, “Israeli women are different from women in our society since they are all drafted”.

Leader of the Opposition Labor party Michael Howard demanded to know why the government is permitting al-Qardawi to enter Britain, as did the United States in 1999. According to Prime Minister Tony Blair, the sheik’s entering the country should be disallowed, however, the law cannot prevent him from doing so.

In addition, Home Office Minister Fiona Mactaggart has cancelled her participation in a Moslem women convention due to al-Qardawi’s attendance.

[Semsem]

The Mayor of London has included Anne Frank on his web site as a cover so that we may not accuse the bastard of being an antisemite.

http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/anne_frank.jsp

[RichardP]

That not only betrays him as an anti-Semite but a moronic-wanker, too. It boggles one's mind that an idiot like 'Red Ken' is elected into such a high office. Or does it, idiots like him are a dime-a-dozen?

[Mediocrates]

Special Report – Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project
July 8, 2004
No. 30

Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi in London to Establish 'The International Council of Clerics'

By Steven Stalinsky*

Introduction

Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi, who is currently visiting the U.K., is one of the most prominent clerics of Sunni Islam, and is among the top spiritual leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood movement. He is also a spiritual guide for many other Islamist organizations across the world, including supporters of Islamist terrorist organizations such as Al-Qa'ida. The European Council for Fatwa and Research is also headed by Al-Qaradhawi.

At a conference on "Jihad and Denying its Connection to Terror" in Stockholm held by the European Council for Fatwa and Research in July 2003, Al-Qaradhawi stated, "The martyrdom operations carried out by the Palestinian factions to resist the Zionist occupation are not in any way included in the framework of prohibited terrorism, even if the victims include some civilians."

This week Al-Qaradhawi, who has been barred from entering the U.S. since 1999, is visiting London to convene the European Council for Fatwa and Research and announce the establishment of the "International Council of Clerics ('Ulama)." In his weekly program 'Shari'a and Life' on Al-Jazeera on July 5, 2004, Al-Qaradhawi stated that this new council "will engage in diverse activities and deal with many areas, and will include many committees such as a cultural committee, a communications committee, an aid committee, and committees engaging in specific Islamic issues."

In describing the goals of the council, Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi made clear that it will be an Islamist council by emphasizing its future role in countering trends speaking for reform Islam: "The general overall goal is to preserve the identity of the Islamic nation, and its essential entity – to protect it against the attacks that seek to tear it from its roots and change the identity of the [Islamic] nation and turn it into a different nation with a different philosophy that will make it merely a tail, while Allah has created it to be the head; make it a nation in vassalage to others, while [its destiny] is to be followed by others; and to preserve the message of the nation in its true Islamic face, and to counter the destructive currents that want to change the identity of the nation and also to counter even the inner currents that seek to change the nature of Islam and make of it a religion of violence or something like that. We are against these currents and we seek to highl!
ight the civilized face and the message of Islam..."

Many of Al-Qaradhawi's sermons contain controversial statements, including threats against the U.K. and the U.S. For example, in a sermon on March 7, 2003 from the Umar Bin-al-Khattab mosque in Doha, he stated, "O God, destroy the Zionist, American, and British aggressors. O God, shake the ground under them..."

This report details Al-Qaradhawi's teachings on Jihad and martyrdom, September 11 and the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, Judaism and Jews, and wife beating. Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi's rulings on Islam and Europe are also explained, including his belief that "Islam will return to Europe as a conqueror."

To view the full report, including footnotes, visit http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SR3004

*Steven Stalinski is Executive Director of MEMRI.

*********************
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent, non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle East. Copies of articles
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