[Middle East Online-UK] Prominent Islamist preacher Sheikh Yusef al-Qaradawi has called for a holy war against Israel, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masri Al-Yom reported Wednesday. "Muslims must carry out jihad to liberate all the land of Islam. Palestine does not belong only to the Palestinians but to all Muslims," Qaradawi said. The Egyptian-born cleric, who now lives in Qatar and appears regularly on the Qatari satellite channel Al-Jazeera, said that the Islamic world "needs men like those of Hizballah: in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and everywhere." Qaradawi, who has close links to the Muslim Brotherhood, said that Islamic law, or sharia, dictated "if a land of Islam is occupied, the entire population must resist and start jihad." Qaradawi has consistently defended Palestinian suicide attacks against Israel.
2006-08-18 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive