On the importance of a religious decree of International Union of Muslim Scholars

 

By Michael Pröbsting, RCIT, 28 April 2025, www.thecommunists.net

 

 

 

In early April, Ali al-Qaradaghi, the secretary general of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) issued an important fatwa (a religious decree in Islam) which was supported by 14 other leading Muslim scholars. (1)

 

In their fatwa, the IUMS scholars “clarify to all Muslims and all countries of Islam the obligation to wage jihad against the Zionist entity and all those participating with it on the occupied land in the extermination of our people in Gaza, whether mercenaries or soldiers from any country. This obligation includes military intervention and supplying the mujahideen with military equipment, military expertise, and intelligence information. This obligation is binding upon the people of Palestine, followed by the neighboring countries (Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon), and finally all Arab and Islamic countries.”

 

They state “that the religious duty of the governments in our countries is to intervene immediately militarily, economically, and politically to stop this genocide and comprehensive destruction, in accordance with their mandate. The failure of Arab and Islamic governments to support Gaza while it is being destroyed is considered by Islamic law a major crime against our oppressed brothers and sisters in Gaza.”

 

The fatwa also says: “It is forbidden to support the infidel enemy [Israel] in its annihilation of the Muslims in Gaza, regardless of the type of support. It is forbidden to sell weapons to them, or to facilitate their transport through ports or international waterways such as the Suez Canal, Bab al-Mandab, and the Strait of Hormuz, or by any land, sea, or air means. The Committee issues a fatwa requiring an air, land, and sea blockade of the occupying enemy in support of our brothers in Gaza.”

 

The document adds that “it is forbidden to supply the entity with oil, gas, and all goods that help it in its war against our people, and it is also forbidden to supply it with food and drink at a time when the people of Gaza are dying of hunger.” In addition, the fatwa calls “on Islamic states that have treaties with the occupying entity [Israel] to review them and pressure the enemy accordingly.”

 

 

 

The pro-regime clerics protest

 

 

 

A "fatwa" is a non-binding Islamic legal ruling from a respected religious scholar. Qaradaghi is one of the region’s most respected religious authorities and his decrees carry significant weight among Muslims. IUMS consists of around 95,000 Muslim scholars globally and 67 Islamic organizations. It claims to bring together Sunni scholars of all four major schools as well as Shia and Ibadi Muslims. The IUMS leadership is based in Qatar and the organization is outlawed by the reactionary dictatorships of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

 

There is no doubt about the importance of this decree by such a highly respected Muslim institution. It represents a clear condemnation of the coward and treacherous approach of the Arab and Islamic regimes which have limited themselves to some verbal denunciations of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. However, these words were not followed by any deeds. The rulers of Egypt and Jordan have refused to end their peace treaties and diplomatic relations with Israel and neither did Morocco, Bahrain and UAE cancel their so-called Abraham Accords with the Zionist state. Furthermore, they continue to aid the settler state by keeping trade relationships with Israel respectively allowing such through their territories.

 

It is therefore hardly surprising that soon after IUMS published their fatwa, religious figures close to these dictatorships came out in opposition against this decree. Egypt's Dar al-Ifta, the main religious authority in Egypt which is close to the military regime of General Sisi, denounced the call for jihad as an "invitation for chaos". Grand Mufti Nazir Ayyad in Cairo said the fatwa was "irresponsible". And a leading Egyptian pro-regime Salafi cleric, Yasser Burhami, also rejected the fatwa, saying it was unrealistic and contrary to Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with Israel. (2)

 

 

 

Arab regimes under pressure

 

 

 

Clearly, the Arab regimes face huge contradictions. They are dictatorships representing a small elite of capitalists and generals which are closely aligned with imperialist Great Powers. They get financial and military aid from the U.S. and make profitable business deals with American, Chinese or European corporations. For the Great Powers, Israel is a indispensable ally which helps them to keep the Middle East under imperialist control.

 

At the same time, these regimes are widely despised by the popular masses who are in full solidarity with the heroic Palestinian resistance. This is why some of these governments hover between allowing space for pro-Palestinian demonstrations and repression against forces involved in such activities.

 

The most recent examples of this are the arrest of 16 activists in Jordan who are accused of aiding the Palestinian resistance with weapons and the ban of the local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The latter is the main force behind the Islamic Action Front, the largest opposition party in Jordan’s parliament, which has organised weekly pro-Palestine solidarity demonstration since the 7 October 2023.

 

Naturally, as revolutionary socialists we have a very different ideology than the IUMS scholars or Muslim Brotherhood which we consider as bourgeois-Islamist. Irrespective of these political differences, we strongly oppose the repression against these forces. Furthermore, in the struggle against imperialist aggression, Zionist oppression and dictatorship, socialists are often in situations where it is necessary to collaborate with such forces in practical united front activities.

 

In our view, it is a serious mistake for IUMS to issue such a fatwa only 17 months after the beginning of the genocide! Still, it is an important step which could encourage the masses in the Middle East to intensify their struggle against the pro-imperialist and pro-Zionist regimes.

 

However, the struggle against Israel’s genocide will be decided by mass actions. The Palestinian people and the heroic resistance need support by any means necessary. The workers and oppressed must force the regimes through mass demonstrations and strikes to stop their direct or indirect support for the Zionist state. The Arab and Muslim world must help the brothers and sisters in Gaza with aid and arms. Egypt – the largest Arab country – must break down the border wall and join the resistance against the Zionist butchers. It must close the Suez Canal for all those countries which side with Israel. Ultimately, the struggle for the liberation of Palestine is closely linked with the revival of the Arab Revolution which would overthrow the reactionary dictatorships and replace them with workers and fellahin governments opening the road to a socialist future.

 

Likewise, the pro-Palestine solidarity in Europe and the U.S. must increase the pressure on the trade union leaderships and the so-called progressive parties so that they impose real boycott actions against trade and other form of support for Israel.

 

We conclude by repeating our ceterum censeo: Down with the Zionist settler state! Long live the Palestinian resistance! (3)

 

 

 

Footnotes

 

(1) فتوى لجنة الاجتهاد والفتوى بالاتحاد العالمي لعلماء المسلمين بشأن "استمرار العدوان على غزة ووقف الهدنة", https://iumsonline.org/ar/ContentDetails.aspx?ID=38808; some quotes of the fatwa are reproduced in: Middle East Eye: Muslim scholars issue 'fatwa' calling for 'jihad' against Israel as strikes pummel Gaza, 4 April 2025, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/muslim-scholars-issue-fatwa-calling-jihad-against-israel-strikes-pummel-gaza. All quotes are from this document if not indicated otherwise.

 

(2) Saleh Salem What to do?: 'jihad against Israel' fatwa pits IUMS against Egypt's top religious authority Dar al-Ifta, 10 April, 2025, https://www.newarab.com/news/jihad-israel-fatwa-pits-iums-against-egypts-dar-al-ifta; Middle East Eye: Egypt’s grand mufti rejects fatwa for jihad against Israel as 'irresponsible', 8 April 2025, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypts-mufti-opposes-calls-armed-jihad-against-israel

 

(3) We refer readers to special pages on our website where the RCIT documents on the 2023-25 Gaza War are compiled: https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/compilation-of-articles-on-the-gaza-uprising-2023/, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/compilation-of-articles-on-the-gaza-uprising-2023-24-part-2/ and https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/compilation-of-articles-on-the-gaza-uprising-2023-25-part-3/