Statement from the Ijtihad and Fatwa Committee of the
International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS)
Commending principled fatwa positions supporting the
ruling regarding the aggression on Gaza and warning against distortions found
in some translations
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially
Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be
upon the Noble Messenger, his family, and all his companions. To proceed:
The Ijtihad and Fatwa Committee of the International Union
of Muslim Scholars, in its meeting on 19 Shawwal 1446 AH (corresponding to
April 17, 2025), reviewed the honorable positions issued by fatwa committees
and bodies across various countries of the Muslim world that released
statements and stances supporting the fatwa concerning the aggression on Gaza,
issued on 28 Ramadan 1446 AH (corresponding to March 28, 2025).
The Committee also noted the positive reactions, widespread
resonance, and broad sympathy for that fatwa. While appreciating and praising
this, the Committee also offers clarification regarding distortions and
inaccuracies that appeared in some foreign-language translations of its fatwa,
aimed at maligning the Committee and the Union.
Accordingly, the Committee affirms the following:
1.
What appeared in those
translations portraying the fatwa as targeting non-Muslim populations in
Europe, the West, and the world is pure fabrication, falsehood, and a
distortion of the fatwa; the Committee and the Union categorically repudiate
it.
2.
The Committee affirms the
inviolability of the blood of non-Muslim civilians around the world and the
prohibition of harming or intimidating them. Muslims in Europe, the West in
general, and in all non-Muslim lands are duty-bound to safeguard the values of
justice and freedom, to resist oppression, and to support the oppressed—side by
side with the free people among their fellow citizens and fellow human beings
of other faiths who have supported the Palestinian cause and believed in its
justice from day one.
3.
The Committee confirms that
its fatwas are confined to the right of defending the oppressed and downtrodden
in Palestine—especially in Gaza—against aggression and occupation, in
accordance with the established legal conditions, ethics, and regulations of
jihad and resistance.
It is well known that resisting an occupier is a legitimate
right affirmed by all revealed laws, religions, and international covenants, as
well as by United Nations resolutions.
The Committee further clarifies that jihad in Islam has a
broad, comprehensive meaning that includes legal, political, financial,
intellectual, and media forms of striving—where everyone cooperates according
to his or her ability, circumstances, time, and place.
The Union looks to all to act with scholarly, ethical, and
Sharia-based responsibility in engaging with its statements and fatwas. It
refrains from trading responses with those who distort its positions or lie in
wait for peoples and nations seeking to resist occupation and injustice. The
Union exercises its religious, legal, and academic right to proclaim the truth
and to strongly condemn the grave threats facing the region and the world as a
result of the occupier’s racist criminal aggression and the dangerous fueling
of general tensions.
It is the responsibility of all humanity to preserve what
the Creator wills for the order of His creation, mutual recognition among
peoples, and the establishment of His oneness.
The Union reiterates the Palestinian people’s right to
resist occupation and stands with their legitimate resistance, as well as with
the struggles of all peoples to defend the freedoms and rights guaranteed by
the Sharia, by religions, and by international covenants.
Issued by the Ijtihad and Fatwa Committee:
Chair of the Committee & President of the Union
His Eminence, the Eminent Scholar Prof. Dr. Ali al-Qaradaghi
Secretary of the Committee
Prof. Dr. Fadl bin Abdullah Murad