Qatari authorities have decided to suspend the efforts of Youssef el-Qaradawi, head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, to persuade Qatari authorities to host Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, the spiritual leader of al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya, said sources close to the family of Abdel Rahman. Abdel Rahman is currently serving life in prison in the US for his role in the 1993 bombing of New York’s World Trade Center.
The same sources said that Qatari authorities have officially informed Abdel Rahman’s family of the decision.
Abdel Rahman’s family had asked el-Qaradawi—via Montasser el-Zayyat, a lawyer for Islamic groups—to persuade the Qatari prince to mediate the release of Abdel Rahman to Qatar. The Qatari prince agreed to address the US authorities if Abdel Rahman’s family made a formal request to him, which they did.
El-Zayyat said Qatari authorities later decided not to intervene as a result of confusion resulting from media leaks.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
