YUSUF AL-QARADAWI

This is one of the extremist justifications of suicide bombing. Note how he tried to turn suicide bombing into an individual right. Yet he and the Muslim Botherhood do not recognize the right of a person to choose his own religion, or the right of freedom of speech or the press. He also cites the Koran--the Muslim Holy Book--as justification. However, most mainstream Muslim clerics can find nothing in Muslim scripture that could possibley justify the murder of innocent people or the individual suicide. His views are extremist, both politically and theologially.

His views are a mix of modernism and fundamentalism. He favors democracy and elections but also favored the Taliban destroying the great ancient Buddha statues when he was called an idol worshipper for urging the preservation of art.

This quotation of a very popular Muslim cleric illustrates the wide range of political views of Islamic leaders and authorities. Whereas most shun democracy as placing public opinion over the word of God, there are many like al-Qaradawi who have a modernist interpretation of Islam.

He advocated economic boycott of America, Israel and others who opposed Arab efforts to expel Israel from the Middle East.

This quotation of a very popular Muslim cleric illustrates the wide range of political views of Islamic leaders and authorities. Whereas most shun democracy as placing public opinion over the word of God, there are many like al-Qaradawi who have a modernist interpretation of Islam.

This quotation of a very popular Muslim cleric illustrates the wide range of political views of Islamic leaders and authorities. Whereas most shun democracy as placing public opinion over the word of God, there are many like al-Qaradawi who have a modernist interpretation of Islam.

This quotation is interesting for two reasons. First, it is one of the few fatwas that recognize women to make a decision that might be against her husband’s wishes—a rarity in Islam which is even more sexist than traditional Western religions. Second, and more important, this fatwa is often used by Muslim fundamentalist terrorists to justify the use of women as suicide bombers. Even with a modern Islamist like al-Qaradawi, the obligation to defend with life if necessary any Muslim nation (right or wrong) is paramount and justifies almost anything else that otherwise might not be permitted. This is very different from most of the rest of the world where national interests are rarely perceived as religious and most attacks on a country have nothing to do with religion but with vested interests.

This statement was made in the aftermath of 9-11. However, three years earlier, at a Hamas meeting, the Cleric did not seem to be concerned about the lives of the innocent. See {617372}.

His views are a mix of modernism and fundamentalism. He favors democracy and elections but also favored the Taliban destroying the great ancient Buddha statues when he was called an idol worshipper for urging the preservation of art.

His views are a mix of modernism and fundamentalism. He favors democracy and elections but also favored the Taliban destroying the great ancient Buddha statues when he was called an idol worshipper for urging the preservation of art. His ignorance of modern technology Is illustrated by his complaint that the Arab nations do not even “produce a single nail” for modern cars. The reality is that there are no more nails in modern cars.

His views are a mix of modernism and fundamentalism. He favors democracy and elections but also favored the Taliban destroying the great ancient Buddha statues when he was called an idol worshipper for urging the preservation of art.

His views are a mix of modernism and fundamentalism. He favors democracy and elections but also favored the Taliban destroying the great ancient Buddha statues when he was called an idol worshipper for urging the preservation of art.

Legal Religious Ruling

Legal Religious Ruling. This is an example of a source of tension between some Muslims and others. Non-Muslims are required to have a Muslim Education in Muslim countries, but they insist that any required Christian or secular education in a non Muslim country is anti-Islamic.

Legal Religious Ruling

Islam had been the center of intellectual thought in the world, until the clerics had decided that innovation itself was a sin and one that called for the death penalty. Although most non-Muslim religions went through stages of death for religious dissent. However, the Koran deals with every part of society. There is no separation of church and state. All knowledge is in the Koran the fundamentalist believes and anyone who expresses a new idea is not only wrong and a heretic, but is dangerous and must be executed. It is therefore not very surprising that the Islamic contributions to science, medicine, and the arts has been so small. The Islamic fundamentalists are opposed by Muslim modernists who try to change the Islamic culture but they are on the minority. Most religions have gone through bad earlier periods where dissent was heresy and warranted death. Fundamentalist Islam is the only one which bans original thought of any kinds even it does not contradict established doctrine.

There are other religious groups that also fear modern secular invasion, so they tend to wall themselves off as do the Amish or have their own schools as many Catholics do. However, the Muslims believe that the danger calls for a jihad and the killing and intimidation of those who advocate, create, defend or spread the secularism. Notice also that Al-Qaradhawi refers to Communism as having destroyed “Muslim countries in Asia and Eurupe.” Many countries of Europe and Asia were fought over by Christians and Ottoman Turks with one side or the other gaining control, only to be displaced by the other in subsequent years. Fundamentalist Muslims therefore think of Albania, Yugoslavia, Crimea, Croatia, and Azerbaijan, for example as Islamic countries because at one point in history they were controlled by a Muslim empire. But that was years ago. When they were invaded by the Russians, Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists all suffered and not a single country was then controlled by Islam.

While the author represents the views of most Islamic Fundamentalists, a similar view is held by many ulta-orthodox Jews and fundamentalist Christians also.

It is amazing what explanations religious and biased fanatics can come up with to explain history.

The logic of this quotation is irrational and faulty but exists the world over. Someone is told to refrain from certain activities because others will be offended and resort to immoral and illegal activities. This is what was said to the Orangemen of Ireland parading in Catholic areas and the reverse. Or women were warned against certain kinds of dress less they be raped. See {623723} .

These lines illustrate a tactic of many Muslim leaders who go out of their way to make moderate statements to the Western press and media audiences while whipping up extremism when appearing on Middle Eastern media.

This quotation illustrated the extreme polarization between the current fundamentalist Muslims, and the Muslim modernists and the West. Kamal Ataturk, the great leader and stateman who is the father of modern Turkey, is castigated by the author for leading the new Turkish parliament to depose the Caliph – the civil and religious autocrat, one of whom reigned from after the death of Muhammad till his abolishment in 1924. Most of the rest of the world credits Ataturk with being one of the great leaders of all time—one who led a democratic revolution which transformed Turkey into the only Muslim secular democracy, requiring pubic secular European type education for all children, giving women the right to vote (before the U. S. even), adopting a European alphabet and dress, and outlook on life—creating most remarkably a total cultural revolution with virtually no loss of life. No revolutionary leader, before or since has led so extensive a political and cultural revolution, and it was a bloodless revolution. Turkey, into the 21st century, was by far the most powerful, industrialized, scientific and modern nation of Muslims in the world and others were far behind. Yet many Islamic theologian still castigate Atatork for his great achievements as being against the will of God.