Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, publicly expressed his support for a U.S. strike on Syria. This gives him common cause with Senator John McCain and any other Obama apparatchik who wants to attack the Assad regime. Perhaps more important than Qaradawi supporting an attack on Assad are his reasons; they are incredibly revealing. However, those inside the D.C. Beltway don’t seem to have any interest in learning such things.
When it comes to translating Arabic into English, much is lost, including context – even when it’s translated directly. That context is everything. It’s like the difference between a black and white photo of a tree without leaves and a color photo of a tree in the spring.
Check out this partial transcript of what Qaradawi said, via MEMRI:
If only we could be the ones to retaliate against those people [the Syrian regime]. I wish there were an Islamic power capable of punishing these people. If only there was an Islamic power capable of drawing the line for the oppressors, and imposing upon them the punishment they deserve.
We do not have such power, however, so if they are punished by others, it is better than nothing. Allah pits the oppressors one against the other. The ancients used to say: “Oh Allah, keep the oppressors busy with one another, and let us emerge from among them intact.” We do not pity those people when they are attacked by whoever strikes them, because they deserve to be attacked, just like they attacked the Muslims.
This is extremely telling. Who are the oppressors? Clearly, Qaradawi is talking about Assad and the U.S. The part about letting the Brotherhood “emerge… intact” is also very revealing because this is exactly how Turkey has handled the entire Arab Spring. It has been the U.S. which has fought in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and potentially in Syria to essentially one end – empowering Qaradawi’s Brotherhood.
Again, why was the Brotherhood founded? To re-establish the Ottoman Empire… in Turkey. It’s not hard to imagine Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan taking a point of view similar to Qaradawi. After all, he’s watched the U.S. do his bidding without engaging his military either.
h/t WZ