You’re crazy, Ken

By Trevor Kavanagh, Political Editor

The Sun, 8 July 2004

* KEN: Prosecute The Sun for saying this cleric spouts evil
* CLERIC: Suicide bombers are OK to kill Coalition troops in Iraq … they are God’s martyrs

SLIMY Ken Livingstone mounted an astonishing defence of a hardline Muslim cleric who yesterday launched a new rant backing suicide bombings. The London Mayor shared a platform with Yusuf al-Qaradawi – who The Sun yesterday exposed as a terror supporter.

Livingstone welcomed the sheik to the capital as an “honoured guest” – ignoring the cleric’s support for child suicide bombings, executing homosexuals, wife-beating and killing Jews. And he even turned on The Sun accusing US of fanning the flames of “Islamaphobia”.

He suggested we should be prosecuted – even though we have only pointed out what the cleric has been calling for. He claimed media coverage of the sheik’s visit showed a need for new laws against religious discrimination. Livingstone said: “British Muslims make an enormous contribution to the capital and this outcry in the tabloid press shows why legislation is necessary.”

Egyptian-born al-Qaradawi said he had been visiting London for 30 years and was baffled by the fuss. But last night, in a pre-recorded TV interview, the rabble-rouser called for suicide bombers to kill Allied soldiers in Iraq. And in London he spoke in support of suicide bombings by Palestinians in Israel.

Continue reading →

“On a popular Islamic website he runs, Sheik Yusuf Al-Qaradawi and his colleagues host an advice column under the jaunty title ‘Fatwa Corner’, where all manner of thorny religious dilemmas are given an airing. Questions seeking his advice range from whether it is permissible to put down a sick cat to asking for guidance on sending a teenager to a mixed summer camp.

“But other subjects upon which the ‘Agony Sheik’ sits in judgment often have a considerably more chilling edge, such as: ‘Is it lawful, under Islam, to take hostages?’ The answer, in his view, is yes. But then this is the character claiming to be a man of peace who has heaped praise on Palestinian suicide bombers, called for the execution of homosexuals and backed a war on the Jews.”

Daily Mail, 8 July 2004

An evil man we must ban

By James Slack, Home Affairs Correspondent

Daily Express, 7 July 2004

THE visit to Britain by a hate-filled Muslim cleric who supports wife beating and suicide bomb attacks by children should be banned, the Government was urged last night.

Extremist Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who has defended the beheading of a Western hostage in Iraq, is already barred from visiting America. But Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has issued the Egyptian with a visa to speak at a London conference for Muslim women next Monday.

Labour MP Louise Ellman called for the trip to be blocked. She pointed to alleged links between Dr Al-Qaradawi, who is the spiritual leader of the Egyptian terror group The Muslim Brotherhood, and Hamas. She said:

“It is outrageous that at a time of heightened security concerns and when the Government is clamping down on terror, somebody with close links to Hamas who has already been outlawed in the US is permitted to come to this country. He may well make inflammatory speeches inciting hatred. It will create enormous security problems at a very sensitive time.”

Dr Al-Qaradawi is based in Qatar but was born in Egypt – the same country as hook-handed cleric Abu Hamza. Al-Qaradawi insists Israeli civilians are legitimate targets for Palestinian attacks and has even encouraged women and children to become suicide bombers.

Continue reading →

Britain’s welcome for devil: Fury as anti-Jewish cleric arrives

By Trevor Kavanagh, Political Editor

The Sun, 7 July 2004

A RANTING Islamic rabble-rouser who supports suicide bombings by children and brutal punishment of gays was being welcomed to Britain last night.

Hardline Yusuf al-Qaradawi, banned from the US on suspicion of terror links, is to be allowed to preach evil views on issues such as “treacherous” Middle East peace moves.

In a recent tirade the cleric stormed: “Israelis might have nuclear bombs but we have the children bomb and these human bombs must continue until liberation.”

Al-Qaradawi is a leader of the extremist Muslim Brotherhood and the al-Taqwa Bank. The latter is suspected of being part of al-Qaeda’s fund-raising network.

The cleric has ATTACKED global brand names such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and KFC as part of a “Jewish conspiracy”.

Continue reading →

Cleric who backs child bombers is to visit Britain

By Fiona Macrae

Daily Mail, 7 July 2004

A RADICAL Muslim cleric who supports children taking part in suicide bombings is to visit Britain.

Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi will be guest of honour at a conference to be opened by London mayor Ken Livingstone. Al-Qaradawi, who has been banned from the U.S. since 1999, is due to speak at the conference, hosted by a Muslim women’s group, in the capital on Monday.

The Foreign Office said Foreign Secretary Jack Straw had granted his visa. All applicants had to satisfy set criteria, a spokesman said.

Al-Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Egyptian terror group the Moslem Brotherhood Association, has declared suicide bombing as ‘commendable’. He has lauded Palestinian martyr bombers as being ‘among the greatest form of holy struggle against oppression’. And when asked about children launching suicide attacks, he said: ‘The Israelis might have nuclear bombs but we have the children bomb and these human bombs must continue until liberation.’ He also recently defended the Iraqi militants who beheaded American hostage Nicholas Berg, saying the murder had been ‘in the right context’.

He has, however, condemned the September 11 attacks and the Bali bombing.

Continue reading →

“The Left’s deliberate blindness to these Muslim extremists imperils us all”, Anthony Browne asserts.

The Times, 6 July 2004