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Posted on 01/11/2005 6:23:16 PM PST by Alouette
LONDON, January 11 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – London Mayor Ken Livingstone on Tuesday, January 11, called on British media to apologize for sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi over the vile campaign that sought to blemish his reputation during his visit to London in July.
Speaking at a press conference, Livingstone further urged those who took for granted false reports circulated by the Israeli intelligence services Mossad to admit that they were plainly wrong, Al-Jazeera satellite channel said.
He said he will submit a report to the Press Complaint Commission to keep it posted on the problems of the British media, which often promulgate stereotypes about Islam and its respected leaders.
British Muslims had expressed disappointment at the campaign launched by the “Zionist” lobby in the UK ahead of Qaradawi’s visit.
The visit turned into a political storm when MP Louise Ellman, a member of the Labour Friends of Israel group, urged then Home Secretary David Blunkett to deny the renowned scholar a visa.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) concluded that there was no legal ground to prosecute prominent Muslim scholar Sheikh Youssef Al-Qaradawi during his London visit.
“Progressive Figure”
“When you get a progressive figure who is moving that religion in the correct direction you engage and you develop it,” the BBC News Online quoted Livingstone as saying.
He said engaging with Qaradawi would help enhance relations between the West and Islam.
“Here is the force that we need to engage with if we are to actually get a dialogue between the west and the Muslim world.”
Livingstone apologized for Qaradawi in July on behalf of the British people, inviting him to back to the United Kingdom.
“On behalf of the people of London, I want to apologize to the Sheikh for the outbreak of xenophobia and hysteria in some sections of the tabloid press which demonstrated an underlying ignorance of Islam,” Livingstone had said.
Mossad Hands
Livingstone further revealed at his press conference that the vicious campaign against Qaradawi was driven by the Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), who is led by a former Israeli intelligence officer, Al-Jazeera added.
He urged the institute to offer an apology for Al-Qaradawi, criticizing it for depending on unauthentic reports released by the Mossad.
The Mayor said that the institute was exploited by Mossad and the extremist right-wing in Britain to propagate untrue allegations about Islam and Muslim figures.
Livingstone has frequently said that a better understanding of Islam and of Muslims would show that the “differences are nowhere near as great as some would like to suggest.”
Prominent Scholar
Egyptian-born Qaradawi is well known throughout the Middle East where many consider him as the champion of moderation in the Muslim world.
He lives in the Gulf state of Qatar and is a regular guest on Arab TV screens. He is also a trustee of the Oxford University Center for Islamic Studies and three of his daughters completed doctorates at British universities.
Qaradawi is also the head of the Dublin-based International Association of Muslim Scholars (IAMS).
Many were the times that sheikh Qaradawi had made clear that bombings targeting civilians were strictly forbidden in Islam, hitting out at the “heinous” Bali bombings and the terrorist 9/11 attacks.
“Islam not only prohibits attacking non-Muslims who do not launch attacks against Muslims, but it also urges Muslims to treat those non-Muslims with due respect and kindness, especially non-Muslims who live alongside Muslims within the Muslim territories,” he had said.
Following the attacks on New York and Washington, Qaradawi spearheaded the Muslim scholars in denouncing the incident and urged the Muslim community in the United States to donate blood to the victims of the attack.
More recently, he condemned the deadly string of blasts in Saudi Arabia, which targeted westerners.
He further called for distinguishing between the Israeli occupation and the Jews themselves.
“We do not fight Israelis because they are Jews, but because they took our land, killed our children and profaned our holy places,” the venerable sheikh had said.
Furthermore, he strongly condemned of the attacks carried out by Al-Qaeda network of Osama Bin laden and Philippine Abu Sayyaf.
He also roundly denounced the grisly beheadings and killing of innocent civilians in Iraq irrespective of their religion and backgrounds.
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