Cherie Blair herself had come under bitter attacks for showing sympathy with young Palestinians who had no choice but to blow themselves up

Who is to benefit of this fuss over a respectable academic and scholastic figure throughout the Muslim world and the west? Muslim groups took blame to the Zionist lobby and others want to keep the gap between the British Muslim community, in addition to the whole Islamic world for that matter, and the west.

"It seems that Islamaphobes and right-wing zealots wish for that gap to remain, indeed for it to widen beyond repair," the MAB said in the statement.

Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir John Stevens revealed Thursday, July 8, that police were monitoring Qaradawi after an official complaint was lodged by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which has called for his banning.

"We are monitoring what he has said and are ensuring that these comments are taken directly to the Crown Prosecution Service," he said, adding that a file had already been submitted to prosecutors for their comments.

Qaradawi gave a speech at the opening of a conference for Muslims in Europe at the Greater London authority's (GLA) Thames-side building Wednesday, July 7, Qaradawi shared a platform with the London mayor, Ken Livingstone.

He defended his support for "martyrdom operations" against Israeli forces, who are occupying Palestinian lands for more than 50 years and prevent the return of Palestinians to their homeland.

Livingstone, a veteran Labor member, said he endorsed many of Qaradawi's views on Israel , and there was applause when an American Hassidic rabbi, Yisroel Dovid Weiss, welcomed Qaradawi and condemned the "Zionist state" as a perversion of true Judaism.

The rabbi is known for his opposition to Israel ’s occupation of Palestinian lands since 1948 and its army’s almost daily incursions into Palestinian occupied lands.

"Many people do not like Ken Livingstone anyway and the people who attacked sheikh Al-Qaradawi had a grudge also against Ken Livingstone for what he is standing for and what he represents," Azzam Tamimi, another spokesman for MAB, told IOL.

Tamimi referred to the influence of the Zionist lobby in London for making the fuss over the visit of Qaradawi.

"The Zionist lobby in this city fears of any access to the public opinion apart from their own, they control a big sector of the media, they have huge influence in the parliament, in the house of Lords, in many institutions."

"They can see that the Muslims are becoming increasingly active and outspoken and that frightens them. So, they have decided to go on in this campaign."

MP Louise Ellman, Labour MP for Liverpool Liverside and known for its staunch support for Israel, has urged Home Secretary David Blunkett to deny Qaradawi access to London on Monday, July 5.

Pressures

It is worth mentioning that any public figure who dares show support for the Palestinians in any way, comes under fierce attacks.

Cherie Blair, wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, was forced in June 2002 into a public apology for saying that young Palestinians felt they had no choice but to blow themselves up.

Cherie's remarks were condemned by opposition deputies while the Israeli Embassy in London expressed its "regret that any public statements which might be interpreted as expressing understanding for Palestinian terrorism should be made."

Blair, facing pressures at the Prime Minister’s question time, said after Qaradawi’s arrival that his speeches will be monitored while in the country, although he had warned against "stigmatizing" the Muslim community because of fears of terrorism.

Qaradawi said he himself was amazed at the statements and the whole row.

"It is not the first time I have visited London . It is not the 10th time or the 100th time. For over a third of a century I have been visiting London . London is an open city, so why is there this row when I visit London today?"

No Evidence

Some newspapers and parliamentarians from all parties have urged the government to deport Qaradawi, claiming that he supports terrorism and preaches race hate or intolerance.

But Muslim leaders in the country said the opponents to the visit have no much to substantiate their claims.

Qaradawi, 77, is well known throughout the Middle East where many consider him to be a moderate figure who has condemned Al-Qaeda attacks, the Guardian added.

He lives in the Gulf state of Qatar and is a regular guest on Arab television. He is also a trustee of the Oxford University Center for Islamic Studies and three of his daughters completed doctorates at British universities.

Many were the times that Sheikh Qaradawi had denounced the attacks on innocent civilians, no matter who they were and the activities of groups like Al-Qaeda.

He called for distinguishing between the Israeli occupation and the Jews themselves.

"We do not fight Israelis because they are Jews, but because they took our land, killed our children and profaned our holy places," the venerable Sheikh had said.

He often made clear that bombings targeting civilians were strictly forbidden in Islam, hitting out at the "heinous" Bali bombings and the 9/11 attacks.

"Islam not only prohibits attacking non-Muslims who do not launch attacks against Muslims, but it also urges Muslims to treat those non-Muslims with due respect and kindness, especially non-Muslims who live along with Muslims within the Islamic territories," he said.

Furthermore, he strongly condemned of the attacks carried out by Al-Qaeda network of Osama Bin laden and Philippine Abu Sayyaf.

Following the attacks on New York and Washington , Qaradawi spearheaded the Muslim scholars in denouncing the grainy incident and urged the Muslim community in the United States to donate blood to the victims of the attack.

More recently, he condemned the deadly string of blasts in Saudi Arabia , which targeted westerners.