Qatar sharia judge attacks Saudi Mufti over embargo

CAIRO – 22 June 2017: Anwar El-Badawy, the highest-ranking Islamic scholar in Qatar, lambasted the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia for legitimizing Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut ties with Qatar. According to a statement published on Tuesday by the Syrian Al Jisr satellite channel, Badawy urged Sheikh Abdel Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh to retract his fatwa.

Shortly after Saudi severed ties with Qatar on June 11, the grand mufti called Saudi Arabia an Islamic country that “funds goodness wherever it exists,” Arab media outlets reported.

Al-Sheikh also called on the Muslim Brotherhood to rid itself of “intolerance and exaggeration” and follow the teachings of the Quran and Sunna.

Al-Sheikh called the Qatari embargo wise and insightful.

El-Badawy said that the Saudi mufti should not have encouraged the political leadership of his country to cut ties with Qatar’s Muslim population.

Al-Azhar released a statement on June 6 that emphasized its strong support of the joint Arab embargo on Qatar.