In an interview with the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi again attacked Shi'ites and the alleged Shi'ization of the Arab and Muslim countries.
Stressing that it was impossible for the Shi'a and the Sunna to become close, he said that disseminating the Shi'a in a country where the Sunna predominates is like invading the Sunni country and its society. He added, "When a [Sunni] society discerns that the Shi'a is being spread, it will oppose it, and will respond with hostility."
Al-Qaradhawi called Iran not a hostile state but rather a state with imperialist aspirations from the ancient Persian era and the Sassanid era, saying that it was investing millions or billions in spreading the Shi'a.
He stated that anyone who accepts the Shi'a becomes loyal to Iran, and not to his own homeland, and that the Shi'ites in Lebanon felt closer to the Iranians than to their own fellow countrymen.
Al-Qaradhawi expressed his willingness for a dialogue with representatives of all religions, including pagan religions such as Buddhism, but that he was opposed to dialogue with oppressing Zionists or Shi'ites, who he said wanted to "invade our [Sunni] country."
He said that his warnings of the Shi'ite peril were aimed at "preventing great fitna [civil strife] in the future" and that this was like "seeing the future and preparing for tomorrow."
Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, September 25, 2008
