In groundbreaking ruling, Middle Eastern Islamic council declares ‘fatwa’ against Hamas
Illustrated video of Gazan speaking out against Hamas in new project
The ‘Whispered in Gaza’ project interviewed Gazans from all walks of life, using video animation to protect their identities. The video series was requested by a member of the Islamic Fatwa Council, and reviewed as evidence. (Courtesy: Center for Peace Communications.)
JERUSALEM – In a groundbreaking decision, an authoritative Islamic legislative body based in the Arab world declared a “fatwa” or legal opinion on Thursday against Islamist militant group Hamas, calling for the treatment of millions of Palestinians living under its rule in Gaza Went. Strip “inhumane” and urge the terrorist organization and its followers to immediately lay down arms, sit down and make peace.
The unprecedented declaration published by the Islamic Fatwa Council, a non-governmental body of Shia, Sunni and Sufi clerics headquartered in the Iraqi spiritual capital Najaf, said that Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, “bears responsibility for its own corruption and a regime of terror against Palestinian citizens within Gaza” and “it is prohibited to pray for, join, support, finance or fight on behalf of Hamas.”
“As an Islamic legal body, we pay attention to the situation of the oppressed all over the world,” Muhammad Ali al-Maqdisi, a cleric with the council, said in a video statement shared with Fox News Digital.
“We have seen what has been done to Gaza under Hamas rule. We have also seen the atrocities that have been committed, in our view, against Palestinians – loyal and unarmed civilians – who have neither the strength nor Nor does Sahara. And, therefore, we consider it our Islamic obligation to help the oppressed.”
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Palestinian members of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, attend a gathering in Gaza City on January 31, 2016 to pay tribute to fellow militants killed after a tunnel collapse in the Gaza Strip. (MAHMOUD HUMS/AFP via Getty Images)
Al-Maqdisi, who also serves as the council’s official spokesman, said, “This is what our religion commands us. Our faith, in its wisdom, commands us to be the enemy of the oppressor and helper of the oppressed.” That’s it.” Why was a fatwa issued against Hamas?”
According to the council, the decision to issue the legal ruling, which while non-binding is considered highly influential in the Muslim world, came after the US published a series of video testimonies of civilians in Gaza last month – Peace Communications Based Center for.
The series, “Whispered in Gaza,” which used animation and voice-changing technology to protect the identities of the Gaza-based speakers, offered a rare and unfiltered glimpse into life in the poverty-stricken, embattled Palestinian enclave. and exposed the anger and fear of the common people there towards their autocratic Hamas rulers.
Hamas, a designated terrorist organization according to the US, EU and Israel, has maintained a tight grip on Gaza since violently seizing the territory in 2007, when Israel unilaterally withdrew in 2005 . The group, which receives funding and training from Iran, enforces a strict Islamic code on its more than 2 million residents as it engages in fighting Israel, which includes firing endless rounds of rockets and incendiary devices into Israeli territory and Including mass protests at the border fence.
Life under Hamas in the Gaza Strip has been highlighted in a new project by locals living there, with some of the locals discussing life under the terrorist group’s iron grip. (Reuters)
Israel, together with Egypt on its southern border, maintains a strict civil and military blockade on the region, controlling the flow of goods and humans in and out of the strip and repelling attacks by Hamas and other militant Palestinian groups. gives the answer.
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Joseph Broad, founder and president of the Center for Peace Communications, which created some 25 video testimonies, told Fox News Digital that a member of the council’s unit reached out to his organization to verify the authenticity of the digitized accounts.
Broad told Fox News Digital, “We responded, as we did with many of our partner media outlets, by holding a secure private screening of the original footage for researchers.”
Grand Ayatollah Fadil al-Budayri, one of the fatwa council’s three presidents, said in a separate video statement that, after seeing the evidence, “the Islamic authority stands with the oppressed Palestinian people.”
“We do not accept that any harm should be done to them, whether from Israel or from the Palestinian ruling elements, whether from Hamas or from others,” he said. “The Palestinian people have suffered enough, and we do not accept that this oppression continues. We call on Islamic and humanitarian organizations to assist in the protection and preservation of human rights in the Palestinian context.”
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While the fatwa is the first time any recognized Islamic legislative body has explicitly declared Hamas illegitimate from the point of view of Islamic law, it follows similar statements by the United Arab Emirates Fatwa Council against the Muslim Brotherhood movement and Saudi Arabia’s Council of Senior Scholars. Follows up on decisions. and all of its branches, declaring them terrorist organizations “that defame Islam and act in opposition to mainstream Islamic unity, theology and jurisprudence.”
Hamas police officers secure a view of a burnt apartment on the third floor of a three-story building in the Jebaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Nov. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Adele Hana)
For Hamas, a Sunni Muslim organization, rule by a council headed by a Sunni mufti – Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdullah al-Dhiban – could have deep consequences, and the fact that the council also includes the Shia cleric al-Budayri . A blow to Iran, the main supporter of Hamas.
“As Hamas is an organization that defines itself along religious Islamic lines, this fatwa represents a direct challenge to Hamas’ legitimacy and undermines its claim to represent Islam,” The Washington Institute Ghaith al-Omari, senior Palestinian affairs expert at For Near East Policy, said of the fatwa’s importance from a political perspective.
“It may not immediately affect its rule over Gaza as it maintains this rule by force. But in the long term, such a declaration represents a serious challenge to Hamas’ narrative,” he said.
Al-Maqdisi said the council hoped Muslims around the world would accept its position and support ordinary citizens living in Gaza over its rulers.
Members of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas Islamist movement, attend a rally to remember the martyrs of the last battle between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip, May 24, 2021. (Mohammed Talatine/Coalition photo via Getty Images)
“We are used to everyone supporting Hamas, but in reality, many ordinary people do not support Hamas’ actions,” he said in his statement. “Perhaps some governments support it because they have political interests, but we are not politicians, and we do not link our decisions to political interests. What matters to us is to support the oppressed in Gaza.”
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Al-Maqdisi said it was time for Hamas to lay down its arms and seek peace.
“To Hamas and its followers, I say, you have taken up arms since 1948 – almost 75 years. In that time, thousands of innocents have been killed,” he said. “Now my advice is why not take up the arms of peace and sit at the table of dialogue. … Seek peace and urge those who support you to embrace your fellow citizens and end this senseless killing “
