The International Union of Muslim Scholars is a global umbrella body for Muslim scholars, founded in 2004 and headquartered in Doha, Qatar. Yousef Al Qaradawi was its founding president, serving until 2018. In November 2017 Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt added IUMS to their terrorism lists during their dispute with Qatar (UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 23 November 2017); Turkey's foreign ministry criticised the listing. In March 2025 IUMS's Ijtihad and Fatwa Committee issued a fatwa calling for jihad against Israel; Australia's Grand Mufti, Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, is listed as participating member number three. The fatwa page was later removed from IUMS's website; an archived copy is held by The Evidence Project. Reaction was divided. The fatwa was issued by the committee chaired by Ali al-Qaradaghi and backed by the 15 participating scholars listed on it. On 8 April 2025 Egypt's Grand Mufti, Nazir Ayyad, rejected it as "irresponsible", saying jihad can only be declared by a legitimate state and political authority, not by "entities or unions that lack any legitimate authority", and that "such actions may endanger the security of societies and the stability of Muslim states". Egyptian Salafi cleric Yasser Burhami also rejected it, citing Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with Israel (Middle East Eye). Israel's Foreign Ministry called on Qatar, where IUMS is headquartered, to publicly reject the fatwa; Qatar did not (Foundation for Defense of Democracies, 11 April 2025).
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