Arab World Mourn Death of the Islamic Scholar Yusuf Al Qaradawi
The death of the Islamic scholar and founder of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi has garnered strong reactions from the Arab and Muslim world, with many taking to social media to mourn the death of an influential religious personality.
Al Qaradawi died today at the age of 96 in Doha Qatar, the official account of the scholar announced earlier today.
The hashtag #Yusuf_Al_Qaradawi in Arabic is trending on Twitter with over 65,000 tweets, as many highlighted the contributions of the late Islamic scholar.
"His progressive views paved [the] way for new trends in modern Islamic thought, and his support for the Arab Spring & our dreams for freedom will always be remembered," said a Twitter user.
"The Islamic nation has lost one of its most sincere and virtuous scholars," said IUMS on Twitter.
Born in 1926 in Egypt, Al Qaradawi died in Qatar, where he had been living after the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood-led government in Egypt in 2013.
He was an outspoken critic of the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president. Morsi had been a member of the Muslim Brotherhood before he became president of the country.
Al Qaradawi was unable to return to the North African country after the overthrow of Morsi due to his opposition to the current president Abdefattah El Sisi.
In 2015, he was tried and sentenced to death in absentia in Egypt. Al Qaradawi was a strong supporter of the Arab Spring revolts.
The revered cleric hosted a well-known TV program called "Shariah and Life," where he took calls from all over the Muslim world and gave rulings and advice on a wide range of areas, including politics.
Al Qaradawi also made frequent appearances on several Television channels to discuss religious matters, making him one of the most recognizable Islamic scholars in the Arab world.
He wrote more than 120 books and received several international awards for his contributions to Islamic studies.
