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Wanted in Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood Icon Youssef al-Qaradawi Dies At 96

Chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars Youssef al-Qaradawi speaks during a news conference in Doha on June 23, 2014. (Reuters)
Chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars Youssef al-Qaradawi speaks during a news conference in Doha on June 23, 2014. (Reuters)
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Wanted in Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood Icon Youssef al-Qaradawi Dies At 96

Chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars Youssef al-Qaradawi speaks during a news conference in Doha on June 23, 2014. (Reuters)
Chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars Youssef al-Qaradawi speaks during a news conference in Doha on June 23, 2014. (Reuters)

Egyptian-born cleric Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi, who was based in Qatar, died on Monday, according to a post on his official Twitter account.

Qaradawi was considered an icon and a spiritual guide to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is classified as a terrorist group in Egypt.

He rose among the group’s ranks and had contacted its founder, Hassan al-Banna in the 1940s, and remained supportive of the organization throughout his life.

In 2018, Egypt sentenced Qaradawi in absentia to life in prison after a military court convicted him, along with others, of participating in the 2015 assassination of interior ministry public security Colonel Wael Tahoon, as well as the killing of one other policeman and one civilian.

Born in 1926 in the Egyptian Delta, Qaradawi studied at Al-Azhar. He graduated from the Faculty of Fundamentals of Religion. In 1973, he received his doctorate in Islamic studies.

Throughout his studies and his youth, Qaradawi was organizationally committed to the Brotherhood, and was imprisoned several times.

He has been living in Qatar since 1961.

Over the years, Qaradawi wrote several books and issued numerous fatwas related to Muslims living in societies with a non-Muslim majority. His fatwas had always sparked controversy.

With the arrival of the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Egypt in 2011, Qaradawi, who had been exiled by former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, returned to the country to deliver his first public speech in the Tahrir Square.

The late cleric had used his platform at the International Union for Muslim Scholars to attack Egypt, after the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood-backed president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

Despite his keenness to appear in the distinguished dress of Al-Azhar’s clerics, Qaradawi had been dismissed from the membership of Al-Azhar’ Senior Scholars Council in 2013 for insulting Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb and the religious authority in Egypt.

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Yemen’s Humanitarian Lifeline on the Brink, IRC Warns

Aid agencies face increasing requests for assistance in the camps of displaced Yemenis (UN)
Aid agencies face increasing requests for assistance in the camps of displaced Yemenis (UN)
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Yemen’s Humanitarian Lifeline on the Brink, IRC Warns

Aid agencies face increasing requests for assistance in the camps of displaced Yemenis (UN)
Aid agencies face increasing requests for assistance in the camps of displaced Yemenis (UN)

As Yemen marks ten years of conflict and crisis ignited by the Houthis, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) warned that the country will face unprecedented challenges this year with expected reductions in US contributions, which accounted for more than half of total humanitarian funding to Yemen in 2024.

The Committee said the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) seeks $2.47 billion to reach 10.5 million people—but as of March 2025, it is just 5% funded.

In 2024, the response received just over half of what was required, forcing aid agencies to scale back essential support such as food distributions and limit access to clean water and other services.

Therefore, IRC warned that expected reductions in US contributions, which accounted for more than half of total humanitarian funding to Yemen in 2024, threaten to widen this gap even further, placing millions at greater risk of hunger, disease, and further displacement.

The Committee also cautioned that a widening chasm between rising humanitarian needs and the funding required to alleviate them, risks leaving millions of Yemenis without access to food, healthcare and protection services.

In 2025, it said, an estimated 19.5 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection—an increase of nearly 7% compared to 2024. Across the country, more than 83% of the population now lives in poverty.

More than 4.5 million people are now internally displaced with most displaced multiple times over the past decade. IRC teams said they are witnessing rising demand in displacement sites, where families face limited access to food, healthcare and clean water.

“These figures reflect the compounding toll of a crisis that has deepened year after year, leaving families with fewer resources, fewer services and no safe alternatives,” the Committee warned.

For families who have endured years of displacement and insecurity, humanitarian aid has been critical to survival.

“I remember the first time I heard the sounds of war. I felt a fear I had never known before. We lost our home, our livelihood, and most importantly, our sense of security. Living in this camp is a daily struggle with no privacy or safety,” said Abdulnasser Abdullah, a displaced father living in Al Qataysh camp.

He added: “But the healthcare assistance we have received has made a real difference—especially since we can’t afford basic medication or even a simple meal.”

Caroline Sekyewa, IRC’s Country Director in Yemen, said that for ten years, Yemenis have endured relentless conflict, economic collapse, and limited access to lifesaving health and nutrition services.

“Humanitarian aid has been their lifeline-preventing disease outbreaks, delivering healthcare, responding to natural disasters, and helping families to survive,” she said.

For donor governments to consider reducing or removing that support is not just short-sighted, it puts millions of lives at risk, the aid director affirmed.

“Yemen now stands on a precipice and without urgent support, we risk reversing years of hard-fought gains. Ultimately, humanitarian aid on its own cannot end the suffering being felt by millions in Yemen,” she said.

Sekyewa then revealed that last year, humanitarian organizations, in spite of a huge funding shortfall, reached more than 8 million people in need across the country.

“2025 must be a turning point in this crisis. With needs steadily increasing, we call upon all donors to step up and ensure that this year’s humanitarian needs and response plan is fully funded,” she affirmed.