NEW YORK (VINnews) — The Islamic Fatwa Council (IFC), one of the senior religious bodies guiding the Muslim world, announced last week that they are charging the terror organization Hamas with “violating the laws of the Holy Koran.”
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The Iraq-based religious group, which claims to be a global governing judicial body on matters of Islam, said that they found Hamas responsible for corruption and terror against Palestinian civilians in Gaza. They also stated that “it is prohibited to pray for, join, support, finance, or fight on behalf of Hamas” saying that it “adheres to the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood movement.”
“It is the responsibility of the Islamic Seminaries to take a clear and firm stance in light of the inhumane actions of Hamas,” they wrote in a statement. “The Islamic Fatwa Council has reviewed extensive documentation of Hamas behavior towards Palestinians in Gaza, including their recently publicized testimonies.”
The non-governmental body of Sunni, Shi’ite and Sufi clerics explained that the fatwa was issued in response to testimonies from Gaza residents published last month in a series of video clips by the U.S.-based Center for Peace Communications.
In the video series, titled “Whispered in Gaza,” Palestinians (whose identities are protected) are shown blaming not neighbouring Israel for their plight, but their autocratic rulers Hamas, who have been in power in the Gaza Strip since 2007 following a violent takeover.
Videos from Whispered In Gaza series depicting life in Gaza under Hamas
The Center for Peace Communications says that it “works through media, schools, and centers of spiritual and moral leadership in the Middle East and North Africa to roll back divisive ideologies and foster a mindset of inclusion and engagement.”
“We do not accept that any harm be done to them,” Ayatollah Shaikh Fadhil al-Budairi said in a video statement. “These officials are supposed to bear responsibility to protect the Palestinian people and their rights. Thus, it is obligatory to expose the accurate facts of the matter and to take the necessary action.”
The IFC Spokesman Sheikh Muhammad Ali al-Maqdisi addressed the council’s decision about Hamas. “We have seen what Gaza has been subjected to under Hamas’s rule,” he said when asked why the council decided to issue a fatwa against Hamas.
“We believed it was our Islamic obligation to aid the oppressed,” he added. “Our faith, in its wisdom, enjoins us to be an enemy to the oppressor and an aid to the oppressed. That is why the fatwa was issued against Hamas.”
“I would add that this is not only the position of the Fatwa Council but also the position of the Council of Senior Scholars of Saudi Arabia and the UAE Fatwa Council,” he added.
The spokesman was asked if the fatwa would be accepted in the Arab world, or if it would cause problems. “First, with regard to us as an Islamic legal body, we work on the basis of our Islamic mandate above all,” he replied. “Second, we anticipate that [Muslim] society will support the oppressed in Gaza and will embrace this position.
Fatwas are Islamic religious decrees made by a recognized Islamic jurist, a Faqih, as a response to a question asked by a judge or government. While the ruling is non-binding, the Islamic Fatwa Council is considered to be highly influential in the Muslim world as this is the first fatwa against Hamas from an Islamic legislative body.
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