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Muslim Scholar Banned From Entry To U.S.
CAIRO, Feb 7 (IslamOnline) - A leading Islamic scholar said Tuesday the U.S. State Department banned him from entry into the country due to his appeal to Muslims to resist Israeli occupation of Palestine and holy Muslim sites, a weekly Egyptian magazine said.
In an interview with the pan-Arab weekly magazine al-Ahram al-Arabi, Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi, said Washington revoked his 10-year multi-entry visa after he issued a fatwa (a religious edict) urging Muslims to support Hamas, Jihad Group, Hezbollah and other groups resisting Israeli occupation.
Qaradawi, a distinguished Islamic scholar based in Qatar who has built a reputation of moderation, said he used to lecture and attend conferences in the U.S. before the State Department said he "advocated violence."
The sheikh, who is on IslamOnline's advisory board, said he does not advocate violence, but said that he supports the right to resistance by "oppressed people to shrug off injustice away from their shoulders."
"Groups like Hamas, Jihad and Hezbollah are legitimately fighting the forces that occupied their land, made their people homeless, confiscated their futures," Qaradawi said. "Their religion [Islam] makes it obligatory for them to defend their land and homes."
When asked whether "suicide" bombings committed by Palestinians were illegitimate because they caused civilian casualties as well, Qaradawi said he objected to the fact that they were called "suicide" in the first place. They are martyr operations, he said.
"They [those who carry out such operations] are siding with the oppressed and with the powerless," he said. "Such operations limit the tyranny and wrong done to them."
"The Israeli society is a huge military area," Qaradawi said, referring to the fact that all Israeli men and women up to the age of 52 are on the conscript force and get military training for four weeks each year. "All Israelis can be called up for military service against Muslims any minute, any day."
The U.S. State Department has placed Hamas, Jihad And Hezbollah, along with several other occupation-resistance groups, on a terrorist organization list and banned donations collection for them, calling it "advocacy of terrorism."
Qaradawi, however, said he does not support outright violence, saying that he stands against violence in Algeria, Egypt and other Muslim countries, where so-called Islamic groups target fellow Muslims, serving no purpose.
"This is random violence. I called on the armed groups in Algeria to come to peace," he said.
Qaradawi said that he shared the same view with the U.S. ambassador to Qatar, but differed on the issue of Israel.
"America gives Israel absolute and unconditional support. This has led to Israel wrecking havoc in earth, killing women, children and men.
"The Israelis are shedding blood unabated in the region since they took a land they only came to 50 years ago. They imposed their presence with arms and weapons. But that doesn't change the truth and justice," he said.
Qaradawi has said he does not, and will not, seek to change U.S. government positions, "at least for now."
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