Yusuf Al Qaradawi, Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader, dies at 96

His death was announced on his official website

Egyptian cleric and chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars Yusuf Al Qaradawi attends a seminar in Qatar's capital Doha, on May 11, 2014. AFP

The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf Al Qaradawi has died at the age of 96, his official website and Twitter account stated on Monday.

The cause of death was not immediately known.

Al Qaradawi, based in Qatar, had reportedly suffered with poor health for years.

He was on the terror lists of several Arab countries. He supported suicide bombings and other attacks by Palestinians against Israel and also voiced support for the Iraqi insurgency that erupted after the US-led invasion of 2003.

Al Qaradawi was sentenced to death by an Egyptian court in absentia in 2015 along with other Egyptians affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood in a case relating to a 2011 mass jail break.

He was also banned in several countries, including France and the UK since 2012 after advocating for suicide bomb attacks against Israelis.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt have also labelled him as a terrorist.

Al Qaradawi was the former president of International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), a union that was formed in 2004 mostly by clerics belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood. Al Qaradawi would go on to lead the IUMS for 14 years before he was succeeded by Ahmed Raissouni, who resigned this year following controversial statements he had made.

Members of the union also include Saudi cleric Salman Al Awdah, who was arrested by Saudi authorities in September 2017, as well as Tunisian Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the pro-Muslim Brotherhood Ennahda party.