Qatar forces out moderates from IslamOnline, plans more conservative approach

Moderates forced out of top Islam Web site

CAIRO — The Qatari government has forced out the moderate leadership of a popular Islamic Web site and plans to reshape it into a more religiously conservative outlet, former employees of the site said Thursday.

Sheik Youssef al-Qaradawi, the widely respected cleric who co-founded IslamOnline and is known as a relative moderate, is no longer the head of al-Balagh, the company which funds the Web site, said his secretary, Youssef Aboul-Naga.

The site was thrown into turmoil two weeks ago when the owners attempted to change its approach, prompting 350 of its workers in Cairo to go on strike. Management in Doha then cut off their access to the site and have been updating it with news articles but not the diverse content IslamOnline is known for, said the former employees.

Aboul-Naga said a temporary board has been appointed and a new president will be elected in the coming weeks. He said al-Balagh gave employees in Cairo, where the site had been operated, the option to apply for jobs in Doha where the site’s operation would move or to resign.

In a statement, Ibrahim al-Ansari, the new board’s director said that al-Qaradawi was relieved from his duties because of the stress he faced from the “misrepresentative” media reports on what was happening at IslamOnline.

Al-Qaradawi has long served as an adviser and guide to the site and his realistic approach to the questions of Islam in the modern age set the tone for IslamOnline.

Al-Qaradawi is one of most influential voices in Sunni Islam, and has been criticized by more conservative scholars for allowing things like men and women to study together, encouraging Western Muslims to participate in their democracies, and condemning al-Qaida attacks such as Sept. 11.

Besides content on Islam, the site, which used to received of hits 350,000 hits a day, is known for covering interfaith dialogue, the arts, sciences and health. It has a fatwa section, where people can receive religious decrees on everything from banking questions to female masturbation.

Many of its contributors are American or European Muslims, and the Cairo offices even employed non-Muslims.

Fathi Abu Hatab, who has been with the company for 10 years, said repeated pressures from management to change the site’s approach prompted them to go on strike.

“Our Doha correspondent wasn’t allowed to cover the Doha Film Festival because it was deemed unIslamic. We were receiving complaints (from management) about our discussions on women’s health, homosexuality, and films.”