Yusuf Qaradawi

Yusuf Qaradawi in 2006

Yusuf al-Qaradawi (Arabic: يوسف القرضاوي‎, romanized: Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī; or Yusuf al-Qardawi; 9 September 1926 – 26 September 2022) was an Egyptian Islamic scholar based in Doha, Qatar, and chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars.

Quotes

• Islam, the religion of tolerance, holds the human soul in high esteem, and considers the attack against innocent human beings a grave sin; this is backed by the Qur'anic verse that reads: "Who so ever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and who so ever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind," (Al-Ma'idah:32).... I categorically go against a committed Muslim's embarking on such attacks.
  • "Qaradawi Condemns Attacks Against Civilians: Forbidden in Islam", Islam-online.net (13 September 2001), as quoted in The Future of Islam (2010) by John Louis Esposito, p. 100.

• The Iraqis have a country that inherited cultures thousands of years old while the Americans have a culture only two hundred years old. Two hundred years will teach thousands of years!? Oh Americans, leave Iraq for its people.
  • Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi Reacts to the Murder of Four Americans in Al-Fallujah: 'How could you punish an entire people because four corpses were mutilated?' (April 2004).

• There are clerics who oppose martyrdom operations in Palestine. By these operations Allah has compensated the Palestinians for their lack of strength. They do not, as the Zionists do, have Apache helicopters, warplanes, tanks, missiles. Allah has compensated them for this with these human bombs. This is divine justice.
• (God) gives the weak a weapon for self-defense that the strong, despite his military and nuclear arsenals, can do nothing against. There are clerics who condemn this and even say that these are suicide operations that are not allowed in Islam.
  • Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi in Favor of Suicide Operations (April 2004).

• The Jews caused us a great injustice, the greatest injustice. They have expelled our people, stolen our land, shed our brothers' blood, and are still shedding blood, and there should be no contact between them and us....we will not agree to meet with them until our problem with the Zionist entity and those Westerners and Christians who support them, is solved.
  • Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi against Including Jews in Dialogue between Religions (May 2004).

• Judaism is the No. 1 propagator of violence....the Torah itself states that when you enter a certain country, you must offer peace, and if they agree, all their residents are your slaves. In other countries, you should not offer peace or conversion. You must destroy them all, do not leave a living soul. In the first country you must slay all males and leave only the women, but in the second country, you must not leave… you must uproot them. This is in Judaism, in the Torah.
  • Sheikh Qaradhawi: American Culture And Judaism Spread Violence In The World (May 2004).

• The truth is that what happened is a reaction to these barbaric acts (in Abu Ghureib prison)...I say that the general atmosphere affects behavior... Even though Islam states that prisoners should be treated decently, there are those who allow killing a prisoner in certain circumstances.
  • Sheikh Dr. Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi about the Murder of American Citizen, Nick Berg (May 2004).

• There are many democracies in our Arab and Islamic countries, but unfortunately, they are all false democracies.
  • Sheik Youssef Al-Qaradhawi in Favor of Democratic Elections in the Arab World (June 2004).

• Who said that I preach terrorism and killing?! This is astonishing! Astonishing that a man faces false accusations while he is still alive and people know him and can serve as witnesses.... I don't claim things that are not in Islam and I don't invent an Islam of my own, but people invent lies about me... I don't believe in secret activities or organizations. I operate in full view of the public eye. People read my books and hear my sermons on the TV channels, my lectures are published for everyone to read, on my Internet website, and on the Islam Online website.
  • Sheik Al-Qaradhawi: US, Israel Waging War On Me, Accusing Me of Supporting Terrorism (January 2005).

• People must ask themselves why this earthquake occurred in this area and not in others....These areas were notorious because of this type of modern tourism, which has become known as "sex tourism"....Don't they deserve punishment from Allah?!
  • Tsunami Reactions (9) - Sheik Al-Qaradhawi: Disaster a Punishment for Sex Tourism (January 2005).

• Millions marched in countries that participated in the war in Iraq, in Britain, Spain, and Italy. Their governments went to war, but the peoples protested against this in the millions. Am I allowed to kill theses people?!...We want [the attackers] to understand the religion and to know what is forbidden. They have a flaw in their understanding of Jihad. They believe that Jihad means fighting the entire world. Who has said such a thing?
  • Sheik Al-Qaradhawi: Are We Allowed to Kill the Mayor of London Just Because He is British?! (March 2005).

• We use trains and planes, but they are not our trains or planes. The (Westerners) manufacture them and export them to us....We own them, but we don't manufacture them. We don't even produce a single nail in any of these cars....Islam teaches us to do things professionally. Doing things professionally is a religious duty....The Prophet said that Allah ordered to excel in everyhting....Even when killing, you must do well....We import everything from needles to missiles. This is our nation. We still haven't manufactured an engine in our Arab countries. We assemble parts, but have no manufacturing industries.
  • Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi: The Islamic Nation's Problem is That Muslims Do Not Work. The Zionist Gang Has Turned the Desert into an Oasis (15 April 2005).

• Throughout history [...] Allah has imposed upon the Jews people who would punish them for their corruption. The last punishment was carried out by Hitler. By means of all the things he did to them — even though they exaggerated this issue — he managed to put them in their place. This was divine punishment for them. Allah willing, the next time will be at the hand of the believers [Muslims].
  • From a sermon broadcast by Al Jazeera (2008), as quoted in Jeffrey Goldberg "New Chapter, Old Story", The New York Times (11 October 2013)

• What remains, then, is to conquer Rome. The second part of the omen. 'The city of Hiraq [once emperor of Constantinople] will be conquered first,' so what remains is to conquer Rome. This means that Islam will come back to Europe for the third time, after it was expelled from it twice… Conquest through Da'wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da'wa.
  • Qaradawi: No Chopping Off of Hands Now…But Later is OK. (January 2012)