Arab leaders risk losing legitimacy: Qaradawi

MUSLIMS URGED TO BOYCOTT 'GOODS OF ENEMIES' Qaradawi giving his Friday sermon By Anwar Elshamy ISLAMIC scholar Sheikh Yousuf al-Qaradawi yesterday warned the leaders of Arab nations against "losing legitimacy if they kept turning a deaf ear to the voice of their peoples," while renewing his call for a boycott of Israeli and US goods over "the ongoing onslaught on the Gaza Strip." In his Friday sermon at the Munira al-Suweidi mosque, Qaradawi criticised the failure of Arab regimes to "even convene an emergency summit to tackle the assault on Gaza." Women protesting the Israeli attack on Gaza at a rally in Doha yesterday "I wonder what is the use of the arms which Arab regimes buy for billions of dollars and stockpile until they rust. I would like to tell them: Shame on you rulers to see your brethren being slaughtered while you are sitting on the fence," he told a large congregation gathered from around Qatar to attend a rally in protest against Israel's military offensive in Gaza. Qaradawi, who is the president of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, also urged Muslims around the world to reach out to the Palestinians by all possible means. "It is the duty of all Muslims around the world to fight against an enemy invading any Muslim nation. But because border and crossing points are closed, Muslims are required to help out the resistance by giving donations and boycotting the goods of enemies," he added. The scholar also slammed the US stance on the Gaza crisis, saying it "failed to lead the world both in politics and economics. It has double standards for everything." "America is behaving as if it is a deity of the world. The West will fall the same way the former Soviet Union collapsed if they do not reconsider their stances," he added. Qaradawi also hailed the the Venezuelan president's decision to expel Israel's ambassador as a "courageous stance", saying that no Arab country among those maintaining ties with Israel dared even to "threaten the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador." He also called for activating the boycott of the products of specific companies working in the Muslim world, saying that some of these companies were thought to support Israel. "In Qatar we have Marks & Spencer which allocates the profits of Saturdays for Israel on a regular basis. Also there is Starbucks which contributes to the education and armament of Israel," he said. He also called on the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas not to "sit on the fence and blackmail the people of Gaza." Gulf Times http://samotalis.blogspot.com/