Ijtihad Network Being Wise and Faithful Muslim in the Contemporary World
A press conference was convened at the headquarters of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) in Doha, Qatar, at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, October 31, 2023. with several scholars from the Union in attendance, chaired by the Union’s Secretary-General, His Eminence Sheikh Ali Al-Qaradaghi.
Amidst the ongoing Zionist aggression on the Gaza Strip, the Ijtihad and Fatwa Committee of the IUMS issued a significant fatwa delivering a powerful message about the duty of Islamic governments to counter this egregious assault. The session, hosted at the Union’s global headquarters in Doha, highlighted the critical need for immediate action and full support to prevent the annihilation and wholesale destruction of Gaza.
Ali Qaradaghi, IUMS Secretary-General: “This is a fatwa by the Islamic scholars regarding the duty of the Islamic governments towards the Zionist attack against Gaza. The Ijtihad and Fatwa Committee of the International Union of Muslim Scholars is in a permanent and ongoing meeting to follow up on this brutal aggression by the criminal Zionists against our people in Gaza, in order to proclaim the truth and explain the duty of the Islamic nation towards what is happening to our people in Gaza. On the basis of this legal duty of the Islamic scholars towards the Islamic nation’s primary cause – the Palestinian cause – this committee, backed by the International Union of Muslim scholars, its board of trustees and its members issue the following fatwa:
“First, there is an obligation according to the shari’a on the ruling government and the official armies to intervene urgently to save Gaza from genocide and total destruction, in full commitment to the duty of supporting Palestine religiously, politically, morally, and legally, in accordance with international covenants the strategic interests of the region and the Islamic nation, and in accordance with their legitimate mandate over the people.
“Second, there is an obligation, according to the shari’a, to intervene militarily and to supply military equipment and expertise, according to the following order: First, the Palestinians, at the level of the Palestinian Authority, and all the factions are required to fight in the West Bank and within the 1948 borders.
“Third, it is the [duty of] the four countries surrounding [Israel] — beginning with Egypt, and then Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. They must carry out the above mentioned duty
“Fourth, it is [the duty of] all Arab and Islamic countries, in coordination with the Palestinians and the four countries surrounding [Israel], within an urgent alliance that would overcome the state of hesitation and weakness that has lasted decades unfortunately, and which led the occupier to continue its unlimited crimes, which have become warning signs of a total holocaust – a holocaust that, unfortunately, became a reality.”.
Fifth: It is the legal duty of scholars, elites, and various organizations to take urgent action to fulfill their duty and urge the ruling regimes, official armies, legislative, parliamentary, and judicial political institutions to intervene quickly and as well as assume religious, historical, and constitutional responsibilities. and press their own strategy.
Fifth: The most dangerous thing that people face is despair in asserting their rights and eliminating oppression, which may herald public unrest whose extent and consequences only God knows, especially in the face of the recent aggressions of the Zionists.
Sixth: Jihad and logistics in Palestine is a legal duty and an Islamic and humanitarian responsibility. Silence in the face of aggression and not repelling it is forbidden according to Sharia. Leaving Gaza, Al-Aqsa, Jerusalem, and Palestine is betrayal of God, His Messenger, and believers, and it is one of the greatest sins in the sight of God Almighty.
