DOHA: Noted cleric Dr Yusuf Al Qaradawi has issued a religious decree, prohibiting Egyptians from voting in a referendum to be held next week by the military-installed interim government.
Islamist supporters of deposed president Mohammed Mursi have already called for a boycott of the January 14-15 vote on a new constitution drawn up by the interim authorities since his July overthrow by the army.
But the Egyptian-born Al Qaradawi, who wields huge influence through his regular appearances on Al Jazeera television from his base in Qatar, said participation would go against Islam because it would mean colluding with a “sin”.
“Participation in the constitutional referendum and contributing in any way to strengthening this coup authority, or giving it legitimacy, or prolonging its existence and strengthening its presence is cooperating in a sin and an act religiously forbidden,” he said in the fatwa issued late on Tuesday.
Al Qaradawi, who has been based in Qatar since he was stripped of his citizenship decades ago, has already issued a fatwa calling on Egyptians to restore Mursi to his “legitimate post”.
He briefly returned to his homeland in February 2011, days after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak and delivered a sermon in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, epicentre of the uprising.
His fatwa came as Mursi was back in court in Cairo yesterday for a new hearing in his trial over charges of inciting the killings of opposition activists in clashes outside the presidential palace in December 2012.
The cleric is also wanted by interim authorities and faces trial in absentia. AFP
