Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi has long tried to position himself as a representative of the moderate religious trend of Islam. Lately, however, his opinions on Egypt have been seen as provocative and uncharacteristically divisive. Since the ouster of Mohammad Morsi, Al-Qaradawi has issued fatwas in support of the former Islamist president and recently urged Saudi Arabia to stop the key financial aid to the military-backed government. Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries to welcome Morsi's ouster. The kingdom has offered Egypt US$5 billion to support its economy after the presidential elections take place in mid April, in addition to the $2 billion that was sent recently. But the Egyptian-born cleric Al-Qaradawi, who is based in Qatar, said the strong backing that Saudi Arabia had provided for the Egyptian authorities which had crushed Islamist opposition since Morsi's removal was wrong and should be withdrawn. "It is surprising that the Saudi government gave billions of dollars to support the [anti-Morsi] coup and the coup leaders and those who are far from God and Islam," Al-Qaradawi, one of the most influential Sunni Muslim clerics in the Middle East, told Reuters. "The only thing that links them to their neighbouring countries is the language of interests and benefits," he said. Al-Qaradawi said the Egyptian military, led by Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi who is now expected to run in Egypt's pending presidential election and win it, was using Saudi funds to "kill innocent Egyptians" instead of helping the poor. Since the ouster of Morsi, Al-Qaradawi has been calling on Egyptians to "take to the streets" and confront the military. In recent months, he has been issuing fatwas (religious edicts) urging Egyptians to support the deposed Islamist president. Many see his religious edicts as incitement of violence among rival groups. Al-Qaradawi's position is not only seen by observers as unrealistic - as the Egyptian military will not allow the Muslim Brotherhood to retake the reins of power - it is also seen by many Egyptians a recipe for continued instability. The leading scholar has loyal supporters. In addition to heading the prominent International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), Al-Qaradawi stars in his own Sunday night primetime show on Al-Jazeera TV, Al-Shari'ah wal-Hayah (Shari'a and Life) which reaches an estimated 60 million viewers, according to the Qatari news channel. The Reuters interview last week and his controversial fatwas on Egypt have drawn fire both from the authorities and Egyptian clerics. Egypt's foreign ministry said on Tuesday it had summoned Qatar's charge d'affaires to demand the extradition of Al-Qaradawi. He faces charges alongside ousted Morsi in connection with a mass jail break during the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak. Egyptian scholars described Al-Qaradawi as one of the most instigators of terrorism, urging him to remain silent. Tariq Abu-al-Sa'd, a leading Brotherhood dissident, said that Al-Qaradawi's fatwas are far from reality, urging him to respect his history and prestige, remain silent, refrain from interfering in Egyptian affairs while staying far from the reality ground and receives his information through his advisers. Abu-al-Sa'd called on Al-Qaradawi to apologize to the Egyptian people for all what he said, pointing out that he issued misleading fatwas. In December 2013, the Islamic Research Academy, the executive arm of Al-Azhar (the highest Sunni authority in the Muslim world) voted unanimously to revoke Al-Qaradawi's membership after a unanimous voting. The move came right after Al-Qaradawi issued a fatwa prohibiting participation in the constitutional referendum held on 14-15 January. In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Al-Qaradawi said the constitution referendum was counterfeited, and that it was held in an atmosphere of repression and murder. While Al-Qaradawi continued to criticize the military and the campaign of arrests against Muslim Brotherhood officials, he has focused his ire more recently on Al-Azhar's Grand Imam Ahmad al-Tayyeb and other key leaders within the Sunni body, describing them as supporters of "a military coup that usurped the office of the Egyptian president". Egyptian Minister of Religious Endowment Mukhtar Jum'ah called on the council of Al-Azhar University to consider withdrawing all certificates of Al-Qaradawi over his alleged insults against Al-Azhar institution and its Grand Imam. "Al-Qaradawi is ungrateful to the university he graduated from," according to Jum'ah, who added that Al-Azhar and his Ministry back the Grand Imam and absolutely support his "patriotic stances." Also radical Islamists and former jihadists have joined the backlash against the veteran sheikh. Islamic Jihad's senior leader, Nabil Na'im, described Al-Qaradawi as an "agent whose fatwas help divide the country at the wishes of Israel and the United States." Even Al-Qaradawi's son, Abdel-Rahman al-Qaradawi, who himself is a vocal critic of the military-backed government, criticized his father's stance on Egypt. In a letter to the Egyptian daily Al-Yawm Al-Sabi, the son wrote that Morsi was removed because he had ruled undemocratically, violating his presidential oath. "According to what obligation to God do you ask us to leave him in power?" he asked. He added that his father's fatwas had "saddened" him, though he insisted he still held his father in high esteem as one of the leading scholars in the Muslim world. For decades, Al-Qaradawi has been affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. In fact, the cleric was twice offered the position of Muslim Brotherhood supreme guide, but he declined both times. Following the January 2011 revolution, Al-Qaradawi, who had been exiled by former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel-Nasser, returned triumphant to Egypt to deliver his first public speech in Tahrir Square since 1981.
