Influential Egyptian cleric Youssef al-Qaradawi has died at the age of 96, his official website announced on Monday.
He died in the Gulf Arab nation of Qatar, where he had been living in exile following the military’s overthrow of the government in Egypt in 2013.
Al-Qaradawi had been tried and sentenced to death in absentia in Egypt. He is known for being a vocal critic of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who, as defense minister, led the 2013 coup that ousted Egypt's first freely elected president, Mohamed Morsi.
For many years while living in exile, he had a popular talk show on Qatar's Al-Jazeera network and often weighed in on political topics.
Al-Qaradawi was the founder and former chair of the International Union for Muslim Scholars between 2004 to 2018.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan conveyed his condolences to al-Qaradawi's family on a phone call Monday.
President Erdoğan talked to al-Qaradawi's son Abdul Rahman Yusuf and expressed his heartfelt condolences.
According to a statement by the Presidency's Directorate of Communications, Erdoğan said the late al-Qaradawi showed the best example of how to live as a Muslim throughout his life and did not compromise on his belief.
"May God bless him with paradise and have mercy (on his soul)." used the phrase.
Abdul Rahman Yusuf, on the other hand, thanked the Turkish president and added that they will organize a condolence program in Istanbul next week.
