The Muslim Judicial Council and the Al-Quds Foundation SA have expressed its support for Shaykh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi in light of the warrant issued for his arrest by Interpol. The warrant seeks to hold al-Qaradawi accountable for offences committed in Egypt years ago. The frail Egyptian theologian said he is stunned at the latest warrant for his arrest.

On Friday, Interpol published a notice on behalf on Egyptian authorities accusing the 88-year-old Qaradawi of having a hand in a mass jail break during the 2011 uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak, among other crimes.

MJC president Maulana Ihsaan Hendricks said the arrest warrant was “laughable”. For the last eight years the MJC has been members of the International Union of Muslim Scholars of which al-Qaradawi is the head.

The MJC, with the Al Quds Foundation will be pledging their support for al-Qaradawi at a joint media briefing at the MJC headquarters on Thursday.

“The warrant of arrest is all connected to the most recent developments in the Arab world and particularly in Egypt,” Hendricks said.

Al-Qaradawi has been a fierce critic of Egypt’s military government and has also lashed out at Saudi Arabia and the UAE for supporting the regime. Al-Qaradawi is currently living in exile in Doha, Qatar for his solidarity with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Al-Qaradawi has long had a prominent role within the intellectual leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Some of al-Qaradawi’s views have been controversial in the West. The scholar has already been refused an entry visa to the United Kingdom in 2008 and barred from entering France in 2012.

Hendricks has called on the international community along with the South African government to condemn the warrant of arrest.

“We as the MJC remain firm on the condemnation of the military coup in Egypt. I don’t think they can further hope to suppress the urge of the masses of the Arab world for the transformation, freedom and democracy that people want to see. The current situation in the Middle East over the last few years, in terms of the political transformation needs immediate intervention,” Hendricks added. VOC (Ra’eesah Isaacs)