Israel Midnight Cafe

'I Hope to Die a Virtuous Death Like a Jihad Warrior, with the Head Severed from the Body; The Qatar Authorities Do Not Interfere in My Sermons'

Ken Livinstone's guest of honour, idealogue of the Muslim Brotherhood, (whom he defends daily as a "moderate") Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi has again spoken out.

MEMRI's special dispatch No. 869 brings us the following the translation:

"When I was only nine, the people of my village gave me the title 'sheikh [who teaches] the Koran and religious science.' I have devoted myself to religious propagation [ da'wa ] for the sake of Allah, and I have not relinquished the mission that Allah entrusted to me. I see myself as appointed by Allah. I will never withdraw from this mission. I hope my life will end with a virtuous death, like [the death] sought by warriors fighting Jihad for the sake of Allah. I do not defend falsehood or the tyrants … but I defend and am beneficial to the affairs of my nation. I will not relinquish my mission whatever accusations are leveled at me regarding terrorism or other matters."


Dhimmitude for London: The mayor and the jihadist embrace

The London Arabic-language daily Al-Hayat reported that Al-Qaradhawi said: "I am not afraid of the Mossad or the Americans." He also said: "The Mossad has threatened to eliminate me, and I hope that Allah will grant me martyrdom [ shahada ] for His sake and that my life will end by my dying at the hands of the enemies of Islam." According to the daily, Al-Qaradhawi hoped to die "a virtuous death" and that this meant "that the head would be severed from the body."

London Mayor Livingstone: 'Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi's Ideology is Utterly Remote from Extremism'

During the solidarity conference, a film about Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi was aired, in which London Mayor Ken Livingstone appeared. According to a report on Al-Jazeera TV 's Internet site, Livingstone said: "We were surprised by the onslaught of unbridled distortion of facts in the papers, which described this man as a wild animal and presented him as the jurisprudent of Satan... We were therefore of the opinion that it is important to conduct a comprehensive inquiry, in which we will consult with the world's ' ulema and study Dr. Al-Qaradhawi's 140 books.

"The results of the report were astounding. It transpired that most of the fabrications that distorted Dr. Al-Qaradhawi's words come from the institute called 'The Middle East Media Research Institute,' which purports to be an objective institute interpreting the words of the Muslim ' ulema from around the world. However, we have discovered that an ex-officer in the Israeli intelligence, the Mossad, is running this institute and that the institute systematically distorts not only Al-Qaradhawi's words, but the words of many [other] Muslim ' ulema as well. In most cases, this distortion is comprehensive, and therefore we printed this document." [3]

According to the Qatar daily Al-Sharq, Livingstone noted that after special committees had studied Al-Qaradhawi's ideology by reviewing over 140 books, as well as sermons and lectures by Al-Qaradhawi, it was found that "Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi's ideology is utterly remote from extremism."

Participant: 'Yesterday It Was Garaudy, Today It Is Al-Qaradhawi'

In their speeches, some of the conference's participants recalled the fact that the center had previously held a conference in solidarity with Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy. One of the participants, Muhammad Al-Musfir, a political science lecturer at Qatar University, said: "I thank Qatar's political leadership for [the way] it has treated thinking and sensible men, despite the great onslaught against it. I also thank the youth center in Doha, which respects independent-minded people and supports them. Yesterday it was Garaudy, and today it is Al-Qaradhawi, with whom we totally identify."

Dr. Hayat Al-Hweiek 'Atiya, who is close to Garaudy and who translated one of his books denying the Holocaust, also participated in the conference. 'Atiya, the only Christian participant, said: "Muslim civilization is being targeted. As a Christian, I think we are gathering today [to honor] the supreme value that this man represents."