Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi, the man who Livingstone described as the “most positive force for change” was not an Obama supporter:
“Personally, I would prefer for the Republican candidate, [John] McCain, to be elected. This is because I prefer the obvious enemy who does not hypocritically [conceal] his hostility toward you… to the enemy who wears a mask [of friendliness].”
Al-Qaradhawi added: “Whoever thinks that the Democrats are less hostile to [the Arabs] than the Republicans should know that the number of Iraqis killed during the siege [of Iraq] by the Democrat Bill Clinton is twice as high as the number of [Iraqis] killed by the Republican [George] Bush.
“The Democrats kill you slowly without you noticing it – and therein lies the danger. They are like a snake whose touch is not felt until its poison enters your body.
“Therefore, I hope that McCain comes to power, so that the motivation for jihad remains in our hearts, and so that we do not [begin to] rely on the infidels – [which will cause us] to be struck by the fire [of Hell].”
Qaradawi, you’ll remember, also backed Bush over Kerry:
Kerry, who ran against Bush, was supported by homosexuals and nudists. But it was Bush who won [the elections], because he is Christian, right-wing, tenacious, and unyielding. In other words, the religious overcame the perverted.
There’s a serious point here. The natural alliance is between the likes of Qaradawi and the Buchananite Right within the Republicans. One of these days, they’ll realise that.
UPDATE:
Unseen sent in the following “Your View” post last night, disclosing just a little bit of strategic self-censorship from the Muslim Brotherhood:
Who did Yusuf al-Qaradawi back in the US elections?
The question is not as trivial as it sounds. While Qaradawi is not a US citizen, he is the most active religious leader in the Muslim Brotherhood. (He also has the dubious honour of successfully lobbying for a change in Islamic Law to formally allow suicide bombings). As the MB is strong in the USA, it’s reasonable to think that his opinion might have swayed a few votes.
So a couple of days ago, the Muslim Brotherhood’s official English-language website (www.ikhwanweb.com) carried a snippet of an interview with the man himself:
“Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi”s was asked on the cyberspace whether the Muslim should take part in US elections, and if so, who should the Muslim wish to be a winner: Obama or McCain?
Sheikh Al Qaradawi”s answer was stunning but he gave his justifications. “Personally speaking, I hope the Republican candidate McCain wins, because I prefer a clear and frank enemy who does not play the hypocrite in his enmity and who accordingly does not make you play the hypocrite with him too. I prefer this to the enemy in disguise” Al Qaradawi said.
Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi- Chairman of the International Union for Muslim Scholars -said:” The frank enemy will make you clearly determine your attitudes and he will even uncover hypocrites in your camp because any one backing him with such a flagrant enmity is undoubtedly hypocrite. The frank enemy makes you always on alert while the enemy in disguise makes you become inactive and lax and feel safe.
Advising those favoring the Democratic presidential candidate, Al Qaradawi said:” Those thinking that the Democrats have less enmity than the Republicans, should know that the number of Iraqis killed by the Democratic president Bill Clinton during the siege on Iraq are more than doubles of those killed by the Republican president Bush .
The Democrats kill you slowly without making you feel this. They are like the adder that injects its venom and you feel this venom only after it enters your body. For this, I hope that McCain assumes office .”
Nice and straightforward – vote McCain because the Democrats are even worse for the Ummah.
Except the piece (http://www.ikhwanweb.com/Article.asp?ID=18469&SectionID=0) isn’t on the website anymore. If I google phrases from the article (http://www.google.com/search?q=”The+Democrats+kill+you+slowly+without+making+you+feel+this) then I get pointed to the page on the Ikhwan site (see http://img206.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ikhwangooglesearchzp3.png) – but when I visit the page, the article is missing – though all the rest of the page bumf is still there. The Google cache still shows the article, though.
Here’s my theory:
Perhaps the Muslim Brotherhood think they’re in with a shot with the new guy? Obama is willing to talk, and perhaps the political leadership of the Brotherhood don’t want to rock the boat just yet, so have put Qaradawi back in his box for now and pulled his piece.
We’ll have to see if Qaradawi’s condemnation of the evil Democrats dies down a bit or not; either way, he’ll be ready to go once the Brotherhood realise that Obama won’t be recognising Hamas or supporting the Egyptian Brotherhood any time soon.
