A University of Oxford lecturer has praised the legacy of a rabidly antisemitic Islamist cleric and suggested that his teachings had been “wilfully misconstrued”.

Dr Usaama al-Azami, a Departmental Lecturer in Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford’s Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, made the remarks at a memorial and prayer service for the late Yusuf al-Qaradawi hosted by the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) on Saturday 1 October. 

“In the West in particular we need to reflect on his [al-Qaradawi’s] legacy because it is often so badly vilified in this context,” the lecturer told attendees at the Maedah Banqueting Hall in East London.

He added: “People have wilfully misconstrued and misrepresented the teachings of a scholar whose legacy if they truly understood it would be transformative to the way in which Muslims can contribute in every society and every time.” 

The cleric’s “greatest contribution is to help us think of a world where actually it is possible for you to live true to your faith,” he said.

Al-Qaradawi had a track record of public antisemitism, including a call for the “annihilation” of Jews in a TV sermon. He also claimed that the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were killed, was “divine punishment”. 

Last week the JC reported that Jewish and Muslim groups were urging the Charity Commission of England and Wales to investigate the MAB after it shared a tribute to the late cleric. 

A Charity Commission spokesperson told the JC that the department are currently “looking into the matters identified to determine whether or not this is a matter for the Commission.”

In his address to the event, Dr al-Azami said: “To talk about Yusuf al-Qaradawi in just three minutes is an impossible task,” adding that his book, ‘Islam and the Arab Revolutions: The Ulama Between Democracy and Autocracy’, published in September was “mostly about” the late Egyptian scholar.

“It’s extremely difficult to think of a world in which he is not with us. He has been with us nearly 100 years,” Dr al-Azami said.

“There are many challenges for those of us that are students and admirers of Sheikh al-Qaradawi, I didn’t actually study with him in the same room but everyone has read his books," he added. 

Dr al-Azami also described how he was “blessed” to own an ijazah, a license that authorises the holder to teach on a particular islamic topic, from al-Qaradawi which was passed on to him by a student directly taught by the Sheikh.

Dr al-Azami did not respond to a request for comment.