Youssef Al-Qaradawy, an Islamic scholar, issued a fatwa against Libyan President Gaddafi, stating that "Whoever is able to shoot a bullet at Qaddafi should do so." He added that such a penalty is fair after all the Gaddafi-sponsored violence against the Libyan protesters during their uprising. Al-Qaradawy encouraged Libyans to unite against corruption. Moreover, he described Gaddafi's son, Seif El-Islam (whose name means the sword of Islam), as the sword of “ignorance.”