The Islamic Fatwa Council (IFC) announced last week that they have ruled the terror organization Hamas and charged them with "violating the laws of the Holy Koran."
The IFC said that they found that Hamas is responsible for their 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."
"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."
Asking the tough questions about the fatwa against Hamas
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.
What is a fatwa and the IFC?
Fatwa is an Islamic religious decree made by a recognized Islamic jurist, Faqih, as a response to a question asked by a judge or government.
The IFC is a legal ruling on Islamic law that is recognized by Muslims as the highest Islamic judicial authority, according to their site. "Fatwa Councils are regionally based and are in equivalence to a Supreme Court. However, each Islamic sect has its own Fatwa Councils and Islamic Courts."