DOHA — Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, a prominent Sunni
scholar and spiritual leader of Egypt’s outlawed
Muslim Brotherhood movement,
has died aged 96, his Twitter account announced Monday.
اضافة اعلان
Qaradawi was imprisoned several times in his home
country of Egypt over his links to the Brotherhood. He was naturalized as a
citizen of Qatar, where he had been based since 1961.
“Imam Yusuf
Al-Qaradawi has died after dedicating his life to making Islam known and
defending his community,” said the tweet on his official account. It did not
provide details on the cause of his death.
Founded in 1928, the Brotherhood established itself
in the mid-20th century as the main opposition movement in
Egypt, as well as in
other countries in the region.
Cairo blacklisted the movement as a “terrorist”
organization in 2013, and has since jailed thousands of its members and
supporters and executed dozens.
The Islamist group has consistently denied any link
to violence.
Qaradawi’s daughter, Ola, was detained in Egypt for
four and a half years over her links to the Brotherhood. She was released last
year but still faces charges.
The cleric led the International Union of Muslim
Scholars, a Sunni association, and the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network regularly
broadcast his sermons.
He also set up IslamOnline, a website that issues
guidance for Muslims on everything from love and sex to ways of offering
prayers.
In recent years, Qatar has moved to reconcile with
the government of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who as army chief
led the 2013 overthrow of late president Mohamed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood
member.
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