DOHA, 27 October — Renowned Islamic scholar Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradawi was refused entry into Abu Dhabi by airport authorities on arrival yesterday. An amazed Qaradawi said: “I don’t see any justification for this action. I have very good relations with the UAE ministers of information and foreign affairs and I have been visiting Abu Dhabi every week to take part in a television program.”
The airport authorities prevented Qaradawi from entering the emirate after checking his Qatari ID card. Qaradawi expects a strong Qatari reaction to the UAE decision. The Islamic scholar hinted that the UAE might have been acting on Washington’s directives.
“It is the first Arab and Islamic country or the first country in the world to turn me back from the airport,” the reputed scholar told reporters in Doha. “The United States is the only country which informed me that I am not allowed to enter its territory through its embassy in Qatar,” he said.
