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Qaradawi was born in
Egypt, and attended the Al-Azhar Theological Seminary before moving to
Qatar. Following his father's death, the 2-year old Qaradawi was raised
by his uncle. His family urged him to either run a grocery store or to
become a carpenter. Instead, he memorized the entire Qur'an by age ten.
Qaradawi was a follower of Hasan al-Banna during his youth and was
imprisoned first under the monarchy in 1949, then three times after the
publication of Tyrant and the Scholar, poetic Islamic plays expressing a
message through theme. Other works such as Fiqh-al-Zakat (Laws of the
Obligatory Charity) are Islamic law treatises which go into precise
details.
Qaradawi worked in the Egyptian Ministry of Religious Endowments, and
was the Dean of the Islamic Department at the Faculties of Shariah and
Education in Qatar, and served as chairman of the Islamic Scientific
Councils of Algerian Universities and Institutions.
Qaradawi was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and has turned down
offers to be the Muslim Brotherhood leader various times. Qaradawi is
the head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research.
Qaradawi has been a staunch defender of the Ashari School of Islamic
theology. In an obituary written for the Egyptian Islamist Shaykh
Muhammad al-Ghazali, Qaradawi wrote, "I know that our Salafi brethren do
not like this, but I would like to say that the whole Muslim Ummah
follows the Ash'ari school. So, has the whole Ummah gone astray? Azhar,
Zaituna, Al-Qaraweyah, and Dupand of India (Qaradawi is mistaken in
this, as Deobandis are Maturidis) are all Ash'aris. All religious
schools in the world are Ash'aris."
Qaradawi hosts a television program on Al Jazeera called "Sharia and
Life" in which he tackles controversial questions, such as the fate of
Palestinian suicide bombers. Qaradawi's vision of a moderate Islam has
included support for democratic principles: '"Islam calls for democracy
and grants people the right to choose their governor" [3] and "Free
integral elections should be guaranteed, where values of justice and
rule of law also prevail" [4]. He frequently quotes the hadith of
Muhammad, saying "Extremism destroyed those before you".
Qaradawi is very popular within much of the Islamic world, and his tapes
and videos are available as far away as Indonesia and Malaysia. Azzam
Tamimi of the Institute of Islamic Political Thought in London has said
"If Sheik Qaradawi gives a fatwa, that fatwa will be heeded tomorrow in
hundreds of places around the world."
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