Related article at HonestThinking.org:
Facts on Qaradawi
∙ Prominent member of The Muslim Brotherhood.
∙ President in The European Council for Fatwa and Research (www.ecfr.org – (Arabic only).
∙ Founder and President of the International Association of Muslim Scholars.
∙ Chairman and professional director of the world’s most extensive web-based resource on Islam, www.islamonline.net.
∙ Qaradawi also runs his personal web page: www.qaradawi.net (Arabic only).
∙ Member of the board of the Islamic American University.
∙ Member of the board of the Islamic Society of Boston.
∙ Chairman of the Scientific Council of the European Institute of Human Sciences (Europe’s largest educational centre for Imams – in France).
∙ Previously one of the major owners of the Islamic financial institution, Taqwa Bank, and a member of the bank’s Sharia Council (until the banks assets were frozen, after western intelligence organizations claimed the bank financed terrorist organizations).
∙ Member of the board of the First Islamic Investment Bank of Bahrain.
∙ Member of the board of Qatar Islamic Bank.
∙ Chairman of the Sunna and Sira Council, Qatar.
∙ Grand Mufti of the United Arab Emirates.
∙ Host in weekly, immensely popular, 90 min live TV-broadcast on Al-Jazeera: “Sharia and Life”.
Sources for Mr. Qaradawi’s Fatwas with reference to suicide bombings.
For unknown reasons, Mr. Qaradawis Fatwas are not easily found in English translation. HonestThinking has had the support of a professional Arabic language consultant who confirms that the Arabic language sources quoted below in fact contain what HonestThinking claims.
With reference to the claim that Palestine, including the State of Israel, is Islamic territory, we can find an elaboration on this issue in the conference report from the European Council of Fatwas and Research, Dublin, September 2000. The Conference, led by Mr. Qaradawi, issued a Fatwa contending that it is haram (sin) for any Muslim to give up any bit of Palestine (including the territory of the State of Israel). This can be found in Resolution 1/6: “Surrendering al Quds (Jerusalem) is a Betrayal of Allah, His Messenger, and His Faithful” (p.2-3). The full report is available in PDF Format.
Mr. Qaradawi has issued a Fatwa called ”El-amalijat al-istishadiya a’zam suwar al-jihad” (Martyr operations are the highest form for Jihad). The Fatwa was issued 3 October 2001 and can be found in Arabic on Mr. Qaradawi’s home pages.
HonestThinking’s confirms that the Fatwa claims that martyr operations are: a) a defense of Islamic territory and religion; b) Jihad in honor of Allah; c) not terrorism but heroic acts; and d) not by any means suicide, but as far removed from suicide as conceivable.
Another of Mr. Qaradawi’s more important Fatwas referring to suicide actions is titled “Amaliyat Hamas Jihad Waqatalaha Shuhada” (Hamas’ operations are Jihad, and those who die [in carrying them out] are martyrs), but we have not been able to find the source of this Fatwa. Please contact HonestThinking if you know a source for this fatwa.
Hamas offers two anonymous Fatwas (in English) with content similar to Mr. Qaradawi’s, here and here.
The London-based newspaper, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, offers comprehensive information about Mr. Qaradawi’s doctrine on suicide bombings. The 19 July 2003 issue reproduces a lengthy Fatwa issued by Mr. Qaradawi through the European Council for Fatwa and Research; as reported from a Fatwa Council Conference in Stockholm, July 2003. The original in Arabic can be found. Memri (www.memri.org), a Jewish organization specialized in translating anti-Jewish publications in Arabic language and which have proven their reliability over the years, offers a translation (recommended!) of the article (see also related article).
Even if Mr. Qaradawi’s Fatwas related to suicide bombings are not fond on islamonline.net, the net site upholds Mr. Qaradawi’s doctrine. By searching on “martyrdom operations” anyone can find plenty of writings by Qaradawi’s colleagues, all seeking to justify and legitimize suicide bombings (“martyrdom operations”). This article (English) will verify that “the majority of Muslim scholars (learned in the law) consider Palestinian martyr operations as legitimate”.
In another article (English), Sheik Faysal Mawlawi, vice Chairman of the European Council of Fatwa and Research (chaired by Qaradawi), confirms that he has issued a Fatwa titled “Martyrdom Operations are not Suicide”.
In the quotation below, HonestThinking presents translated excerpts from Qaradawi’s Friday sermon in a mosque, March 2002 (“darsha”). The speech can be found in its entirety in Arabic at Qaradawis home page.
At this time Jihad is an
absolute necessity for all Muslims. … [Mr. Qaradawi addresses the Arab countries
and criticize them for not having done enough to help the Palestinians]. … In blowing
themselves up, the Palestinians have given us beautiful examples of Jihad; or in
standing up against tanks, and blowing them up. They are not afraid of
anything, not even dying. How can we help the father who will not grieve his
son having become a martyr, or the mother who receives the message about her
son’s martyr death with shouts of joy? What do we have to offer the mother who
offers good advice to her son on his way to blow himself up: That he be strong
and that he shall know that he does this for Allah; that he shall know he will
not be considered dead! [Quoting the Quran:] “Say not about one who is dead
for Allah that he is dead, for he lives!”. … [Mr. Qaradawi criticizes an Arab
media outlet for using the term”suicide attack”, contending that death by “martyr
operation” is not suicide]. … Jihad is now an absolute necessity for the entire
Arab nation. Everyone must engage in Jihad with everything he is and with everything
he has.
The Simon Wiesenthal Centre has issued an interesting report (available in English (pdf) and French (pdf) - also available in English in html) about the connections between The Muslim Brotherhood, Mr. Qaradawi, and Hamas.
HonestThinking recommends an article from Arab News called ”Qaradawi, moderate and extremist”.
In stark contrast to Norwegian politicians inability to act in the face of Det Islamske Forbundets (The Islamic Federation’s) theology of terror, 2500 Muslim intellectuals from 23 different countries have joined in a campaign and a request to the UN asking for initiatives against what they call “terror theologians”, and they are specifically mentioning one of them, Mr. Qaradawi. Many of these Muslim intellectuals are risking their lives, the lives of their families, their jobs, and their carrier opportunities for their standing up against evil and inhumanity. This call for endorsement and appeal for the UN to apply political sanctions against “Theology of Terror” is presented as “Open Letter from Liberal Arabs and Muslims”. It can be found several places on the Internet, e.g. here or here.
In one of Mr. Qaradawi’s best-selling books he writes: “The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam” (1984, page 205-206), Mr. Qaradawi writes:
Because of his natural ability and his responsibility for providing for his family, the man is the head of the house and of the family. He is entitled to the obedience and cooperation of his wife, and accordingly it is not permissible for her to rebel against his authority, causing disruption. Without a captain the ship of the household will flounder and sink.
If the husband senses that feelings of disobedience and rebelliousness are rising against him in his wife, he should try his best to rectify her attitude by kind words, gentle persuasion, and reasoning with her. If this is not helpful, he should sleep apart from her, trying to awaken her agreeable feminine nature so that serenity may be restored, and she may respond to him in a harmonious fashion. If this approach fails, it is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts. In no case should he resort to using a stick or any other instrument that might cause pain and injury.Rather, this 'beating' should be of the kind which the Prophet (peace be on him) once, when angry with his servant, mentioned to him, saying, 'If it were not for the fear of retaliation on the Day of Resurrection, I would have beaten you with this miswak (tooth-cleaning stick)' [as reported by Ibn Majah and by Ibn Hibban, in his Sahih].
"The Prophet (pbuh) admonished men concerning beating their wives, saying 'None of you must beat his wife as a slave is beaten and then have intercourse with her at the end of the day.'
"It was reported to the Prophet (pbuh) that some of his Companions beat their wives, whereupon he said, 'Certainly those are not the best among you [as reported by Ahmad, Abu Daoud, and al-Nisai. Ibn Hibban and Al-Hakim classify it as sound, as narrated by Iyas ibn 'Abdullah ibn Abu Dhiab].'
Says Imam Al-Hafiz ibn Hajar, 'The saying of the Prophet (pbuh), 'The best among you do not beat,' could imply that beating wives is in general permissible. To be specific, one may beat only to safeguard Islamic behavior and if he (the husband) sees deviation only in what she must do or obey in relation to him. It is preferable to warn (her) or something of the sort, and as long as it is possible to achieve things through warning, any use of force is disallowed because force generates hatred, which is inimical to the harmony expected in marriage. Force is applied only when sin against Allah Ta'alah (masiyah) is feared. Al-Nasai has reported 'Aishah as saying, 'The Prophet (pbuh) never beat any of his wives or servants; in fact, he did not strike anything with his hand except in the cause of Allah or when the prohibitions of Allah were violated, and he retaliated on behalf of Allah.'
If all these approaches fail, and the rift between the husband and wife deepens, the matter then devolves on the Islamic society for solution. Two individuals of good will and sound judgment, one from the wife's and one from the husband's side, should meet with the couple in order to try to resolve their differences. Perhaps the sincerity of their efforts may bear fruit and Allah may bring about reconciliation between the spouses.
On the popular Al-Jazeera TV show, “Sharia and Life”, Mr. Qaradawi said (15 October 1997):
Beating is permitted [to the man] in the most limited of cases, and only in a case when the wife rebels against her husband… The beating, of course, will not be with a whip, a stick, or a board. The beating will be according to what the Prophet said to a servant girl who annoyed him on a particular matter, 'If it were not for fear of punishment in the Hereafter, I would have beaten you with this miswak.
Likewise, the beating must come only after admonishment, and expelling [the wife] from the bed [as is said in the Qur'an 4:34], 'Admonish them, leave them alone in their beds, and beat them.'
He also said: "Beating is not suitable for every wife; it is suitable for certain wives and for other wives it is not. There is a woman who cannot agree to being beaten, and sees this as humiliation, while some women enjoy the beating and for them, only beating to cause them sorrow is suitable…
The Prophet said about those who beat their wives: 'Those are not the best among you.' The respectable and honest Muslim man does not beat his wife, and his hand is not accustomed to beating. If [the husband] beats [his wife] he must beat her in the way of which we spoke. He must refrain from beating her in sensitive places or on her face.
Original source in Arabic at Al-Jazeera, Memri offers a translation.
In yet another Fatwa published on islamonline.net Qaradawi
says:
It is forbidden to beat the woman, unless it is necessary, and she 'is in a state of rebellion' against the husband and flouts him. This is temporary discipline [ta'adib] that is permitted to him according to the Qur'an in exceptional circumstances, when other efforts of admonishing [the wife] have failed and removing her from the bed as Allah said: 'As to those women on whose part you fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (next), refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them; but if they return to obedience, seek not against them pretexts (for annoyance): for Allah is Most High, Great (above you all).'[Qur'an 4:34] Despite this permission for the hour of necessity, the Prophet said: 'The good men from among you do not beat [their wives].
Information compiled by Jens Tomas Anfindsen, editor, HonestThinking.org