Sunni cleric Yusuf Al-Qaradawi facing treason charges in Egypt for pro-Muslim Brotherhood support
Muslim cleric Yusuf Al-Qaradawi is accused of ‘high treason’ by Azhar scholars over Muslim Brotherhood stance and after demanding foreign intervention to solve Egypt’s political crisis.
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Senior Al-Azhar scholars have lashed out at influential Muslim cleric Yusuf Al-Qaradawi for his pro-Muslim Brotherhood statements, with some calling for prosecuting him for ‘high treason,’ according to Ahram Daily.
“His inflammatory fatwas [edicts] would be considered under any constitution and law to be high treason, and could lead to the individual being stripped of their nationality,” said Ahmed Karima, Islamic Sharia professor.
Islamic scholars are not alone in taking issue with the prominent sheikh. Some political activists have also condemned his “rabble-rousing” speeches.
“He continues to incite violence and murder in his sermons against police, army and the people, proving allegations that he serves foreign agendas,” said Mohamed Moussa of the Conference Party.
Abbas Shoman, under-secretary of Al-Azhar – the highest institutional authority in Sunni Islam, has hit out at Qaradawi for what he has termed “hysterical” statements calling for intervention from the West following Morsi’s overthrow and in response to the interim-government’s recent crackdown on Islamists.
Many of Al-Azhar’s scholars have urged excluding the controversial cleric from the institution’s Senior Scholars Authority.
Qaradawi, one of the most prominent Egyptian Sunni academics in modern history, who chairs the International Union of Muslim Scholars, has recently come under fire for backing toppled Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as his perceived sedition against Egypt’s army and police.
Hundreds have been killed in bitter political unrest, pitting Islamists against Morsi’s opponents and security forces.
[…] the 2013 change in power, the cleric was charged with still supporting the Brotherhood, as activists also condemned his “rabble-rousing” […]
[…] In a continuation of a spate of bad news for Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi, an Internet news portal is reporting that Senior Al-Azhar scholars have called for prosecuting the cleric for what they called “high treason.” According to a Global Dispatch report: […]