That nice Yusuf al-Qaradawi is coming back to England. The man who regards suicide attacks as “the highest form of Jihad” spent time as Red Ken’s special guest last year, upsetting all sorts of people. This year he’s coming to Manchester for a conference.

The Americans have already banned him from their country. Apart from their refusal to see suicide attacks as the highest form of Jihad they’re miffed about his ‘cyber jihad’ against their computers - which, incidentally, they believe was initiated from computers in the UK. Anyway, we’re not at all worried by people who hold violent, hateful or racist views - we’ve been hosting them for years.

So will Charles Clarke let this man into our country or won’t he? From The Telegraph:

Last Friday the Home Office outlined proposals aimed at restraining militants by making it a crime to glorify or condone terrorism. Ministers said that would cover statements suggesting that suicide bombers were martyrs.

Okay, so al-Qaradawi fits the bill. He’ll be banned, right? After all, he said about suicide bombings in Israel on Newsnight last year:

“It is not suicide; it is martyrdom in the name of God. I consider this type of martyrdom operation as an indication of the justice of Allah almighty. Allah is just.

“Through his infinite wisdom he has given the weak what the strong do not possess and that is the ability to turn their bodies into bombs as the Palestinians do.”

Has Mohammed Shafiq, of the Ramadhan Foundation, which organised the event, thoroughly checked out al-Qaradawi to make sure he’s not going to be an embarrassment to Muslims - especially at a time like this?

“He is a moderate and he says that what he has said has been taken out of context and we take his word on that. He is a respected figure in the Muslim community and that is why he has been invited: to help promote cultural and religious diversity.”

That’ll be a ‘no’ then.

The problem with many of these foreign Muslims is that they can sound very reasonable in some areas and then totally potty in others. Hence, al-Qaradawi’s condemnation of the 9/11 bombings was emphatic. Yet they don’t square with other views he holds - including these I picked from his own web-site, Islam Online.

I originally posted some of this information in a comment on Samizdata when one of its correspondents hinted I was over-stating the case when I described some of al-Qaradawi’s views as scary. Actually, I think his views are obscene - I was just trying to be nice. To read them click

His views on female circumcision include this:

It is reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to a midwife: “Reduce the size of the clitoris but do not exceed the limit, for that is better for her health and is preferred by husbands”. The hadith indicates that circumcision is better for a woman’s health and it enhances her conjugal relation with her husband. It’s noteworthy that the Prophet’s saying “do not exceed the limit” means do not totally remove the clitoris.

On divorce he includes this passage:

If the husband senses that feelings of disobedience and rebelliousness are rising against him in his wife, he should try his best to rectify her attitude by kind words, gentle persuasion, and reasoning with her. If this is not helpful, he should sleep apart from her, trying to awaken her agreeable feminine nature so that serenity may be restored and she may respond to him in a harmonious fashion. If this approach fails, it is permissible for him to admonish her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive areas. In no case should he resort to using a stick or any other instrument which might cause pain and injury.

On organ donation he says:

…it is not permissible to donate it to an apostate as he is no more than a traitor to his religion and his people and thus deserves killing.

After a leading Muslim religious scholar condemned “any attack on innocent civilians,” in the wake of attacks that killed more than 26 Israelis al-Qaradawi remarked

“Has fighting colonizers become a criminal and terrorist act for some sheikhs?” Qaradawi asked. He added that “Israeli society was completely military in its make-up and did not include any civilians.”