Egyptian cleric Qaradawi denounces Interpol arrest warrant

Qatar-based Egyptian cleric Yusef al-Qaradawi denied Monday inciting murder on his personal Facebook page after Interpol issued a warrant for his arrest.

“I did not kill and I never incited to murder so that Interpol would put me on the wanted list,” Qaradawi wrote on his page.

“Those who killed thousands of innocent people at the Republican Guard headquarters, Manassa and Rabaa, al-Nahda, Ramsis and others are known and are being invited to Western capitals,” he added.

Qaradawi’s statements came following the international police agency claimed that he made an “agreement, incitement and assistance to commit intentional murder, helping prisoners to escape, arson, vandalism and theft.”

Qaradawi, who is in his late 80s, is wanted by Egypt's authorities and faces being tried in absentia.

He is seen as a spiritual guide to the Muslim Brotherhood, the group ousted Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi hails from and is the head of the Muslim Brotherhood affiliated International Federation of Muslim Scholars (IFMS).

Egypt has designated the Muslim Brotherhood a “terrorist organization” and launched a brutal crackdown on Mursi's Islamist supporters since his ouster last July 3.

Qatar had close ties with Egypt during Mursi's turbulent single year in power, but relations nose-dived after his overthrow.