Egyptian Islamic theologian Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who heads the International Union of Islamic Scholars and the European Council for Fatwa and Research, issued a religious edict Monday in which he called for Libya's leader, Col. Muammar Qaddafi, to be killed. "Whoever in the Libyan army is able to shoot a bullet at Mr Gaddafi should do so," al-Qaradawi told Al Jazeera television.
The religious leader also instructed Libyan military personnel "not to obey orders to strike at your own people," and called on Libyan representatives worldwide to repudiate Gaddafi and his regime.
Al-Qaradawi accused the international community of keeping silent although hundreds of people had been killed in Libya within a few hours' time.
"If such a thing had happened in Israel and Europe, the world would get up, it would not sit down," he added. It was not clear if he was referring to a hypothetical Arab rebellion in Israel being brutally quashed by the IDF, or to a massive terror attack that killed Jews. If the latter, many Israelis would agree with him: the world does, indeed, remain indifferent in the face of horrific acts of violence against Jews.