Influential cleric Qaradawi, supporter of Arab Spring uprisings, dies

FILE PHOTO: Egyptian-born cleric Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi (C) attends the opening session of the fifth International Al-Quds conference in Algiers March 26, 2007.REUTERS/Louafi Larbi (ALGERIA)

DUBAI (Reuters) -Senior Muslim cleric Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi, a spiritual leader for the Muslim Brotherhood and defender of Arab Spring revolts, died on Monday at age 96, according to a post on his official Twitter account.

Born in Egypt in 1926, Qaradawi spent much of his life in Qatar, where he became one of the most recognisable and influential Sunni Muslim clerics in the Arab world thanks to regular appearances on Qatar's Al Jazeera network.