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"Muslims are not afraid of the dialogue with the other," said Qaradawi
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By
Hani Beshr, IOL Correspondent
LONDON,
July 11 (IslamOnline.net) - An elite of Muslim scholars called
Saturday, July 11, for consolidating the principle of dialogue with
the other and welcomed Islamic-Christian bids to bridge the gaps.
"Muslims
are not afraid of the dialogue with the other because they stand firm
counting on the Noble Qur'an, which has everything to do with
dialogue," Head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research
(ECFR) Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi told the annual conference of the
Muslim Association of Britain (MAB
) in London.
Tarek
Ramadan, professor of Islamic studies in University of Fribourg,
Switzerland, said mutual respect and tolerance should be the bedrock
of such a dialogue.
"Differences
should make us stronger," the Egyptian-born intellectual told the
conference, which was hosted by the Greater London Authority.
"Muslims
are not required to dissuade the other from their religions and should
think pragmatically not emotionally," he said.
Ramadan
rejected the Muslims being on the defensive all the time, saying they
are by no means a minority in western societies.
"We
are full citizens of these societies and never a minority. We are only
a minority in terms of religion," he noted.
Omar
Abdul Kafi, a prominent scholar and researcher, said Muslims and the
West share many common grounds, urging hardliners to open up to the
Muslims.
Wrapping
up its 13th session late Saturday, July 10, in London, the ECFR called
on Muslims living in the West to abide
by the laws in their respective countries and respects
the rights of non-Muslims.
Solidarity
With Qaradawi
The
conference has also turned into a show of solidarity with Sheikh
Qaradawi who has been at the heart of a vile criticism campaign since
he arrived in London on Monday, July 5.
Rabbi
Yisroel Weiss Davis, a leading member of the anti-Zionism group Neturei
Karta , came especially to London to voice his solidarity with
the renowned Muslim scholar.
"I
was in Vienna in protest plans to name a
square after Theodor Herzl when I heard about the
vicious campaign targeting the character of Sheikh Qaradawi. I then
decided to fly to London to defend him and express my
opposition to Zionism ," Davis told IslamOnline.net.
Mokhtar
Al-Badri, MAB vice president, condemned the anti-Qaradawi campaign,
but maintained that British Muslims would not be dragged to any
irresponsible actions.
Azzam
Tamimi, MAB spokesman, said that Louise Ellman, the British MP who
sparked the row over Qaradawi's visit, does not represent her country
but Israel and Zionism.
Ellman,
Labour member for Liverpool Liverside, is a member of the Labour
Friends of Israel group and had delivered several speeches before
Israeli groups in London like Poale Zion.
The
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) concluded Friday, July 9, that there
was no
legal ground to prosecute Sheikh Qaradawi as requested
by Henry Grunwald QC, president of the Board of Deputies of British
Jews.
