Qatar-based cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi called on Egyptians to take part in protests led by the Muslim Brotherhood on Friday to force the perpetrators of Egypt's so-called coup and military “to know their limits."
In the Friday sermon he delivered in Doha, Qaradawi called on the military to act wisely and to return to their job of protecting the country's borders.
"What are these people doing?" he asked. "There hasn't been anything similar. Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak ruled for 60 years, but they have not done anything close to what they have done in just days and weeks."
"We call on all Egyptians to take to the streets, this is an obligation for all Egyptians," he said, adding that scholars from the International Union of Muslim Scholars, which he heads, and Al-Azhar, supported his opinion. He also accused Al-Azhar's Grand Sheikh and the former mufti, to which he made a veiled reference, of representing the political leadership, not the people.
Qaradawi said that the Egyptian media misleads the people and described those who killed "thousands of protesters" as “worse than monsters” because they “defended an illegitimate regime in the face of a legitimate one."
He added that there are Arab countries that do not want what is best for Egyptians, pointing out that they paid US$13 billion to the army to help it carry out its plans, referring to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
Qaradawi said that most of ousted President Mohamed Morsy's mistakes were due to the fact that he he did not wish to reveal the “secrets of those around him” for the sake of Egypt and its people.
Addressing Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, he added: "Sisi, you were a minister under Morsy so how could you oust him? May you and those with you go to hell for breaking the oath."
He also said that former Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei remained patient until he could no longer accept the wrongdoings of the political leadership and resigned.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
