By Omar Shagaleeh
ISTANBUL (AA) – Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Egyptian-born head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, has called on Egyptians to “unite against the oppressive tyrant” in Monday demonstrations in Egypt held to protest the policies of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency, al-Qaradawi said that al-Sisi represented the interests of “external forces”.
“Our country [Egypt] is currently being run by the western powers,” he said. “We have armies that aren’t our own; they are run by the western world.”
He added: “But if the people decide to stand up against this, no power can stop them.”
The Egyptian authorities on Monday stepped up security in capital Cairo in anticipation of planned demonstrations against a recent decision by the al-Sisi regime to cede two Red Sea islands — which for decades had been considered Egyptian territory — to Saudi Arabia.
A former army chief, al-Sisi spearheaded a 2013 military coup that unseated Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president and a Muslim Brotherhood leader.
Al-Sisi has come under fire recently, ever since the announcement earlier this month that Egypt’s sovereignty over the islands of Tiran and Sanafir would be ceded to Riyadh, which was a major supporter of Morsi’s ouster almost three years ago.
The controversial maritime border readjustment, which was announced during a recent visit to Egypt by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, sparked widespread public outrage in Egypt and accusations that al-Sisi was “selling” Egyptian territory to Saudi Arabia.
Several Egyptian opposition groups have voiced support for Monday’s planned protests, including the April 6 youth group and the Muslim Brotherhood, both of which played leading roles in a 2011 popular uprising that ended the 30-year rule of autocratic President Hosni Mubarak.
– Praise for Turkey
Al-Qaradawi also lavished praise on Turkey, which recently hosted a summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) — an event he described as “a success”.
“The summit draws its strength from the country that hosts it,” he said.
“When I heard Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the summit, I felt confidence in the Muslim Ummah [nation]; that Erdogan would make this Ummah stronger and that hundreds of millions of Muslims are standing with him,” al-Qaradawi said.
Turkey, he added, “acts as a Muslim country should; it supports all Islamic causes… [such as] continuing to demand the lifting of the ongoing [Israeli] blockade of the Gaza Strip.”
“Participants came [to the summit] from numerous countries to express our thanks to Turkey, which continues to defend Islam and Muslim causes,” he said.
“For this reason,” he added, “we express our thanks to Turkey, to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.”
Al-Qaradawi attended last week’s “Thank you, Turkey” festival in Istanbul, at which participants voiced their appreciation of Turkey, which, according to the event’s organizers, “has always supported and stood by the Muslim Ummah”.
Ali Abo Rezeg contributed to this report
