Gaza war: Religious fatwa from Gaza condemns Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October – BBC News Arabic

This fatwa is a shameful criticism that could harm Hamas, especially since the group often justifies its attacks on Israel by saying that they are carried out for religious reasons. , to gain support from the Arab and Islamic communities.

On October 7, 2023, hundreds of Hamas militants from Gaza attacked southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and detaining 251 others.

Israel responded by launching a military campaign to destroy Hamas, during which more than 43,400 people were killed in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health in the Hamas-run Strip.

Al-Dayeh believes that the massive civilian casualties in Gaza, coupled with the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure and the humanitarian catastrophe that followed the October 7 attack, means that that attack directly going against the teachings of Islam.

He said Hamas had not fulfilled its obligations “to keep fighters away from civilian homes.” [الفلسطينيين] Isolation and their shelters, and providing security and safety as much as possible in various aspects of life… security, economic, health and education, and providing them with sufficient supplies.”

He pointed out that the Qur’an and Sunnah, which set strict conditions for the practice of jihad, said that it is necessary to avoid actions that provoke an excessive and disproportionate response from the opponent.

His fatwa emphasized that, according to Islamic law, a military attack should not provoke a response beyond the intended benefits of the action.

Al-Dayeh said: “Man is more precious to God than Mecca.”

Al-Dayeh’s opposition to the attack that took place on October 7 gained particular importance due to his great religious influence in Gaza, as he is considered one of the most important religious figures and that he is an outspoken critic of Islamic movements, including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. .

His moderate Salafist beliefs put him directly at odds with Hamas’s approach to armed conflict and its ties to Shiite-ruled Iran.

Dayeh calls for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate that strictly adheres to Islamic law instead of the political party-based regimes that Hamas and other groups are proposing.

He said in a sermon he delivered in a mosque several years ago: “Our role model is the Prophet Muhammad, who founded a country and did not establish political parties that would divide the country.

He also condemned terrorism, opposed jihadist groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda, and used all his platforms to issue fatwas on various social and political issues, from business affairs, social disputes about marriage and divorce, to political violence.

This fatwa added to the growing internal debate in Gaza and the Arab region about the moral and legal consequences of Hamas’ actions, and is likely to ignite further divisions within Palestinian society over the use of resistance. weapon in the ongoing conflict with Israel.

Ashraf Ahmed, one of Al-Dayeh’s students who had left his home in Gaza City last year and fled to southern Gaza with his wife and nine children, told the BBC : “Our world rejected the idea.” [الدكتور الدايه] Leaving his home in northern Gaza despite fear of Israeli airstrikes. He chose to fulfill a religious duty by expressing his legal opinion on the attack.”

Ahmed described the fatwa as the strongest legal ruling of a historical period, stressing that it is “a deeply researched document that shows the mother’s commitment to Islamic jurisprudence.” “