Al Azhar cleric says suicide bombings are a religious duty

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from a program featuring Egyptian cleric Hashem Islam Ali Islam, a member of the Fatwa Committee of Al-Azhar, which aired on Al Aqsa TV on July 12, 2012.

I say to people who object to martyrdom operations that martyrdom operations are among the deeds most pleasing to Allah.

They constitute a religious duty in this day and age, in order to strike at the Zionist enemy.

In Egypt, Al Azhar is considered to represent moderate, mainstream Islam.

But it is possible that the quote is out of context. After all, he only mentions "the Zionist enemy," so perhaps he is only justifying blowing up Jewish women and children.

Which isn't really controversial at all, is it?