Indications coming from Cairo on Friday are not good. Muslim Brotherhood mastermind Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi returned to Egypt, from which he had been banned for decades, and gave a speech before hundreds of thousands. As Andrew McCarthy and Big Peace’s al-Mutarjim note, here’s a portion of what the cleric said:
A message to our brothers in Palestine: I have hope that Almighty Allah, as I have been pleased with the victory in Egypt, that He will also please me with the conquest of the al-Aqsa Mosque, to prepare the way for me to preach in the al-Aqsa Mosque. May Allah prepare the way for us to (preach) in the al-Aqsa Mosque in safety–not in fear, not in haste. May Allah achieve this clear conquest for us. O sons of Palestine, I am confident that you will be victorious.
For the leader of a religion of peace, Qaradawi sure talks an awful lot about war. This call for conquest, in particular, should disturb everyone: The Al-Aqsa mosque stands on the Temple Mount in the heart of Jerusalem. Qaradawi’s call for conquest of that mosque is a call to destroy Israel.
This all might seem like so much bluster, but for the Egyptian army’s role in allowing Qaradawi in, and providing security for his speech while keeping non-Islamists off the stage. The Egyptian revolution now has its Khomeini, come home to roost.
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