Sheikh of Muslim Brotherhood Yusuf Qaradawi changes opinion about Russia and proclaims it enemy of Islam # 1

An unexpected call has been made a few days ago by an Egyptian preacher, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood Movement, Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi.

He called on the Arab and Muslim countries to declare political and economic boycott of Tehran and Moscow because of their support of the Assad regime.

"The Arab and Islamic world must stand against Russia. We must boycott Russia. We must consider Russia as our enemy # 1. It is Russia that prevents the security council from condemning the Syrian regime, adopting a resolution against it and taking a decision to fight against it", said Sheikh Qaradawi.

"Russia has become enemy of Islam and Muslims # 1 because it stands against the Syrian people. Over 30,000 Syrians have been killed. With whose weapons were they killed? With Russian weapons. Russia is providing the Syrian regime with weapons, and with anything else it needs", said Qaradawi.

"Iranians and Russians are killing us, Arabs. They are killing our Syrian brethren. They are slaughtering them. Do not think that the Syrian army is doing this on its own, emphasized Qaradawi. - The Syrian army is doing it with Russian weapons which Russia sends through Iranians. Therefore, our enemies are Russians and Iranians".

He also urged to pray for the overthrow of Assad regime and the destruction of his army which, as emphasized the Sheikh of Muslim Brotherhood, use Russian-made weapons and military jets to kill Syrians.

It is to be recalled that up till now, Sheikh Qaradawi has been very loyal to Russia. Things went so far that in 2010 he made a public statement justifying Russia's occupation of the Islamic Caucasus.

He made his scandalous statement in September 2010, saying that he was approached by an uncle of the Chechen apostates' ringleader Kadyrov, Khozh-Akhmed Kadyrov, as well as a by so-called "representative of the spiritual administration of the Chechen republic in the Gulf countries", asking to condemn the actions of the Mujahideen in Chechnya and the Caucasus.

Qaradawi responded to their request with a large hardy readable tirade which Kadyrov's apostates called "fatwa" (it can be read it using this link).

In his "fatwa", Qaradawi accused Chechen Mujahideen, among other things, of ignorance, unjustified Takfir and violence.

The main postulate in his "fatwa" was Qaradawi's claim that "Islam forbade changing the harm if it leads to a greater harm. And it did not order to get rid of harm in the same harmful way, especially when there would be an even greater harm after that".

Furthermore, Qaradawi called the Jihad of the Mujahideen in Chechnya and the Caucasus "violence that has nothing to do with the letter of Sharia or with its spirit".

As an example, he compared the Mujahideen in Chechnya and the Caucasus with Egyptian groups al-Jihad and Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya that chose "military actions and the path of armed confrontation" in the war against the regimes, "although they did not have power to do so". 

Qaradawi believed that these groups had to use democratic processes and parliamentary elections in order to achieve their goals.

"They did not use methods of explanation and appeal to people, or education and guidance, methods of peaceful path in universities, mosques, and democratic processes such as elections and entering parliaments in order to achieve their goals and gain freedom and bring benefits to the people", Qaradawi said.

Qaradawi also said that killing of puppet ringleaders whom infidel invaders put on the necks of Muslims would not achieve the goal, because it would lead to a worsening of the situation.

"The murder of a president, a prime minister, or a state security chief does not solve the problems facing Muslims, and in most cases, they are replaced by those who are even worse, more cruel and reject a dialogue with Islamists", Qaradawi pointed out to "ignorant" Mujahideen.

Now, Sheikh Qaradawi contradicted himself proclaiming Russia as an enemy, and calling for the overthrow of the Assad regime "through violence and murder". He spoke of the need to eliminate the Syrian president and his ministers, heads of security services and the army who are supported (as their puppets in the Caucasus) by the same Russia.

It is to be recalled that because of Sheikh Qaradawi's controversial fatwas, leading Islamic scholars repeatedly accused him of conformity, ignorance of provisions of Sharia and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and simply of delusion and distortion of the Sharia (detailed information about this can be found at this link and in the work called "Refutation of Qaradawi").

Obviously, the change of view by Qaradawi on Russia and proclaiming it enemy of Islam # 1 is a purely politically motivated position because 2 years ago Qaradawi forbade Mujahideen in Chechnya and the Caucasus that what he calls for today.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Comment: Qaradawi is just a self proclaimed scholar who utters words about religion according to his own whims and desires.