Egypt’s grand mufti rejects fatwa for jihad against Israel as 'irresponsible'

Egypt’s Grand Mufti Nazir Ayyad on Monday said it was "irresp0nsible" for the International Union Of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) to issue a fatwa that said all "able Muslims" are under an obligation to wage "jihad" against Israel due to its atrocities in Gaza. 

The IUMS said all Muslim countries are under a legal duty "to intervene immediately militarily, economically and politically to stop this genocide and comprehensive destruction" and to impose a siege on Israel.

“The failure of the Arab and Islamic governments to support Gaza while it is being destroyed is considered by Islamic law to be a major crime against our oppressed brothers in Gaza,” its secretary general, Ali al-Qaradaghi, said in a decree issued on Friday.

In response, Ayyad, who is the highest authority for issuing religious opinions in Egypt, rejected the fatwa, saying that "no individual group or entity has the right to issue fatwas on such delicate and critical matters in violation of Sharia principles and its higher objectives".

"Such actions may endanger the security of societies and the stability of Muslim states," he added.

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