Wiesenthal Center: Mayor Livingstone?s Comparison Of Terror Sheik To Pope John XXIII: ?A Mockery To Every Victim Of 7/7?

WIESENTHAL CENTER: MAYOR LIVINGSTONE’S COMPARISON OF TERROR SHEIK TO POPE JOHN XXIII: "A MOCKERY TO EVERYVICTIM OF 7/7"

The Simon Wiesenthal Center today blasted London Mayor Ken Livingstone for comments made comparing Sheik Yusufal-Qaradawi, a Qatar-based cleric who has advocated suicide bombing as a holy act, to the late Pope John XXIII, the pontiff who led the Catholic Church in the years afterWWII.

"As Prime Minister Tony Blair tries to rally the world to take a united stand, Ken Livingstone subvertshim as he once again validates an extremist who provides theological validation for suicide bombing and who publicly stands against such Muslim moderates as Jordan’s KingAbdullah, who was rebuked by Qaradawi for trying to rally Muslims against acts of terror" saidRabbis Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper, Founder and Dean and Associate Dean of the Wiesenthal Center.

"By grovelingly comparing the Terror Sheik to the late, saintly Pope John XXIII, Livingstone mocks thevictims of 7/7 and further emboldens Islamist extremism and terror," they concluded.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe.

For more information, please contact the Center's Public Relations Department, 310-553-9036, or visitwww.wiesenthal.com.