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By Chaymaa Benallouch
Rabat – Saudi Education Minister, Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Issa, urged the banning of books by Qatari Egyptian preacher, Yusuf Al-Qardaoui, from university libraries, colleges, schools and education departments.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt issued a list of Qatari individuals and entities that have allegedly been financially supported by Qatar. They claim the list and its terrorist agenda represent a threat to the security and peace of the four countries and the region in general.
“The list includes Qatari entities and institutions disguised as charity groups, while funneling millions to support terrorist groups and organizations that threaten the national security of neighboring countries and countries of the region,” a joint statement said. Among the names mentioned on this list was Yusuf Al-Qardaoui.
The urgent decision follows the statement by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt avowing their commitment to combatting terrorism and rooting out its sources of funding. In an effort to fight against radical ideology and the tools of its publication and promotion, the decision to ban all the writings of Al-Qardaoui and refrain from future publication was made.
The statement stressed the need to “use what is adopted by the ministry, and the importance of selecting officials to manage the sources of learning from reliable specialists, recognized by moderate thought.” It also pointed out that “committees have been formed in each department of education to visit all the schools and make sure they are free from books that are against the regulations and instructions.”
The publication ban includes several works by Abu Al-Maaloudi, Malik bin Nabi, Abdul Qadir Awda, Mustafa al-Sibai, Anwar al-Jundi and Hassan al-Turabi.
History of Banning Books of Al Qardaoui:
At the Cairo International Book Fair in 2015, a number of the exhibition’s visitors were disappointed by the presence of books by Al-Qardaoui and Sayed Qutb in Dar Al-Shorouq.
That same year, the Egyptian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs decided to remove extremist books from all libraries. They took the added measure to also ban them from mosques, especially books written by leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and the sheikhs of extremism. Among the books banned by the Ministry at that time were the works of Yusuf Al-Qaradaoui.
In May of 2017, Shaikh Mohammed Shaalan, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Awqaf in Al-Bahira, banned any unauthorized books by the Ministry of Endowments. The ban resulted in the confiscation of 150 books from various mosques libraries and their withdrawal from circulation. Al-Qardaoui’s Islamic Awakening and the concerns of the Arab and Islamic world, was among the publications seized.
