So much for moderate Palestinians

Barry Rubin reports here on a recent incident that gives an alarming insight into what's going on in Palestinian society these days:

"Siding with Hamas, [Yousef Al-Qaradawi], an Egyptian who lives in Qatar, gave a sermon urging Muslims to stone—in other words kill as a heretic—Palestinian Authority (PA) leader (often referred to as "president") Mahmoud Abbas. Angered by this statement, PA officials ordered West Bank imams to denounce Qaradawi for this action. One of those who did so was Raed al-Mahdawi of Ramallah who took a traditional conservative Muslim position, asking Qaradawi to apologize to Abbas and adding, 'Muslim scholars should not use the podiums at their disposal to incite against any ruler or offend the feelings of any people.'

But those who followed PA instructions were interrupted and forced to stop by angry worshippers; congregations walked out or chased the clerics out of the mosques altogether. In response, PA police beat up and arrested those protesting."

Qaradawi is considered the foremost Islamic cleric in the world today - and many think he is 'moderate.' He's about as 'moderate' as the angry West Bank worshippers.