International Union of Muslim Scholars calls for jihad
The Muslim organization has issued a fatwa on armed struggle against Israel – despite long-standing dialogue with Christian organizations.
The International Union of Muslim Scholars has issued a legal opinion (fatwa) calling on Muslims to wage armed jihad against Israel. The fatwa, published by the Qatar-based organization funded by the Qatari government, states that every able-bodied Muslim is obligated to wage jihad against Israel and that all Islamic states must support this.
The same International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) has been conducting interfaith dialogue for years with various Christian organizations, religious leaders, and institutions committed to the promotion of peace and mutual understanding. A kind of world religious mush that never tastes good. These Christian organizations and representatives surely knew that IUMS founder Youssef al-Qaradawi approved of Palestinian terrorist attacks against Jews. Or did they not?
The “Committee for Jihad and Fatwa” of the IUMS issued its new fatwa in relation to the war in the Gaza Strip. It calls on Muslims to embrace armed jihad against Israel. The IUMS is a Sunni organization with ties to the radical Muslim Brotherhood and is based in Qatar. According to an analysis by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), it is funded by the Qatari government.
The new fatwa comprises ten points:
- The obligation of armed jihad against the “occupation of Palestine” for every able-bodied Muslim in the Islamic world.
- The obligation of immediate military intervention by Arab and Islamic states.
- The obligation to completely blockade the Zionist enemy on land, sea, and air, including sea routes, straits, and all airspace of Arab and Islamic states.
- Military, economic, political, and legal support for the resistance is a religious duty.
- The formation of an Islamic military alliance to protect the Ummah and deter aggressors is an urgent religious obligation.
- Prohibition of normalization with the Zionist enemy.
- Prohibition of the supply of oil and gas to the Zionist entity.
- Reassessment of the peace agreements concluded by some Arab states with the occupying power.
- Commitment to financial jihad to support the brothers in the Gaza Strip and to accelerate the opening of border crossings.
- Call on Muslim communities in the United States to put pressure on President Donald Trump and his administration to fulfill his campaign promises to end the aggression and establish peace.
The IUMS is an Islamic organization founded in Qatar in 2004. It is one of the most prominent religious institutions related to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement with influence in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Incidentally, the Muslim Brotherhood is the spiritual progenitor of the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas.
The IUMS was founded and led by Youssef al-Qaradawi, a Qatari cleric of Egyptian origin. Qaradawi was considered one of the most influential Sunni scholars of modern times and was known for his support of the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist policies. After his death in 2022, Ahmad al-Raysuni took over the leadership. In 1954, Youssef al-Qaradawi was forced to flee Egypt after the Egyptian government under Gamal Abdel Nasser launched a massive crackdown on the radical Muslim Brotherhood.
It was al-Qaradawi who declared the Palestinian suicide attacks – called “martyr operations” – against Israeli targets as legitimate. He argued that Palestinian attackers were not committing “suicide” but were holy martyrs (“shahids“), because they died fighting for the liberation of “Palestine.” He explicitly supported these attacks, especially during the Second Intifada (2000–2005). He also authorized attacks on Israeli civilians, claiming that in Israel, due to mandatory conscription, “all Israelis are potential soldiers.”
Qatar repeatedly plays a double game. It markets itself as a friendly mediator between Israel and Hamas, while simultaneously funding organizations like the IUMS. In contrast, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain designated the IUMS as a terrorist organization in 2017. They consider it a mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood, which they view as a threat to their regimes.
The IUMS is an ideologically influential organization—especially among Islamists and the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood. However, it is not a true political or military power and has only limited direct influence outside of Qatar. Although the fatwas of the IUMS have no binding legal status, the organization of prominent Muslim clerics clearly signals its goal—the destruction of Israel. And now, at a time when the entire Middle East is already in turmoil, the IUMS is issuing a “theological death warrant” against Jews.
The Vatican and the Pope maintain regular contact with Islamic scholars and are open to interfaith dialogue with the group. The IUMS has also met with representatives of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to discuss issues such as peace, justice, and inter-religious cooperation. One such meeting took place in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2011. This was part of an ongoing dialogue that intensified after the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the political tensions in the Middle East. Another meeting took place in Jordan in 2015. In 2018, the IUMS and the WCC participated in a joint conference in Istanbul, Turkey. The conference addressed interfaith dialogue and the role of religions in today’s world. The focus was on promoting cooperation in refugee assistance, tolerance, mutual respect, and social justice.
Inter-religious ecumenism between Islam and Christianity is well-intentioned, but achieves nothing. Irreconcilable theological differences make it impossible – starting with the question of who Jesus is: Son of God, or prophet? The Trinity is blasphemy for Islam. Which revelation is correct – that of the Bible, or the Koran? These differences cannot be simply dismissed. Indeed, they preclude true spiritual unity. Some fear, quite rightly, that dialogue will lead to a trivialization of the Christian faith – for fear of offending Muslims, central themes such as the cross and the resurrection are omitted. Muslims in Europe are allowed to celebrate Ramadan in churches. Do any of you know of a Muslim country where Christians are allowed to celebrate Christmas or Easter in a mosque? No.
Of course, inter-religious ecumenism makes sense in theory – if it is conducted honestly, openly, and responsibly. But let’s be real: It doesn’t work in practice. Struggling for truth, peace, and coexistence might work between individuals, but not between religious systems. Especially in a torn world, true dialogue is necessary and prophetic – but that lies solely in the power of the Messiah.
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