The International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) in Its Own Words

The International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) is a global organization of Islamic scholars that was founded in 2004 by Egyptian scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi.   
 

The IUMS brings together scholars from over 50 countries across the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Its membership includes both Sunni and, to a lesser extent, Shia scholars.  
 

The organization is headquartered in Doha, Qatar, and has historically been funded by the Qatari government and private donors. The IUMS has drawn both support and criticism, particularly due to the political and ideological positions held by its leaders. Despite this, the IUMS remains a prominent and influential voice in global Islamic discourse. 
 
The IUMS has a decades-long history of animosity against Israel, and open antisemitism. However, since Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023, the IUMS and its leadership have been increasingly vocal in their support for Hamas and demonization of Israel. This culminated in a fatwa, issued on April 9, 2025, calling for jihad against Israel by all Muslims capable of doing so. 
 

Below are examples of Antisemitic incitement, glorification of terrorism, and Holocaust denial in IUMS content: 
 

Praise for October 7 and Calls for Jihad in Support of Hamas 
 
October 8, 2023 
“Until the morning of October 7, when the occupation army woke up to about 5,000 rockets in one hour, and the mass exodus of the herds of settlers began.”  

IUMS authors frequently compare the slaughter of October 7th to “Ghazwat al-Ahzab,” also known as the “Battle of the Confederates” or “The Battle of the Trench.” This refers to an early Muslim account (627 CE) in which the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza was accused of conspiring with Meccan tribes against the Muslims. As punishment, all fighting-age men of Banu Qurayza were beheaded and all the women and children enslaved.  
 
For example: 
 
October 10, 2023 
“Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar — He fulfilled His promise, gave victory to His soldiers, and alone defeated the confederates” before continuing, "We thank Allah... for the blessing of victory that He achieved at the hands of our brothers in the sacred land... our mujahideen brothers in Gaza... especially the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and the rest of the resistance factions." 
 

January 26, 2025 
“As for the Battle of the Confederates [i.e. Battle of the Trench], the similarity is clearer and more complete... Just as the confederate tribes of disbelief united against the Prophet, the enemies of disbelief have united against Gaza...” 
 
January 26, 2025 
“...The betrayal from within—collaborators of security coordination and agents of the Zionists in the fake authority—mirrors the betrayal of the Jews of Banu Qurayza.” 
 
Days after October 7, the IUMS held an emergency video conference which resulted in unanimous praise for the attacks: 
 

October 11, 2023 
“All participants agreed that the scholars, preachers, and imams from across the Islamic world stand with the heroic mujahideen, support their struggle, and strengthen them with their hearts, prayers, positions, and sermons." 
 
September 14, 2024 
“The nation’s celebration of the Prophet’s birthday is an occasion to recall the superiority of the act of jihad, and to urge Muslims to seize the opportunity of the Al-Aqsa Flood battle to attain this virtue and engage in it—each from their own position and with their available means.” 
 
September 14, 2024 
“As they say, the occasion dictates the obligation, and the Al-Aqsa Flood is a providential opportunity to fulfill the obligation of jihad in all its forms. It is a general duty from which no believer is exempt.” 
 
September 14, 2024 
“The blessed Al-Aqsa Flood is a bounty, and abandoning it is a liability.” 
 
One year after the October 7 attacks, the IUMS produced an anniversary publication in which it praised the attacks as: 
 
October 2024 
“[...] October 7, 2023, that historic day written in gold, that heroic day that the history of the Jewish conflict with the people of the land and the Arab and Islamic nation had never witnessed before, [that] shook the occupying entity and dealt it a major shock.” 
 
January 26, 2025 
"The flood [October 7] was intended by the mujahideen as a flood for al-Aqsa, and God intended it as a flood for the entire Ummah. Its blessings spread widely, and its goodness was not confined. Its successive waves will come until full liberation, by God's will." 
 
January 26, 2025 
“The Al-Aqsa Flood opened the page upon which the death certificate of the occupation will be written.” 
 

April 9, 2025 
"We declare to all Muslims and their states the obligation of jihad against the Zionist entity and all those who participate with it on the occupied land in the extermination of our people in Gaza...[...] The obligation of jihad against the occupation in Palestine applies to every able Muslim in the Islamic world." 
 
Antisemitic Statements and Incitement of Genocidal Violence Against Jews 
 
November 8, 2014 
"The Prophet (peace be upon him) extracted what Ibn Abī al-Ḥuqayq [a Jewish leader of Khaybar] had hidden [i.e. his family’s wealth] and ordered his execution. This is the way of the corrupting Jews, and this is the fate of those who break covenants and betray. So who will deal with the Jews of today who broke their covenants—and with their treacherous allies?” 
 
January 2021, 2018 
"The Jews recognize only the logic of force and have no faith, no covenant, and no honor. Their most prominent trait is racism: they consider themselves God’s chosen people, and all others as Gentiles (non-Jews) who are of no consequence." 
 
September 28, 2019 
“Anyone who follows the history of the Jews and their positions with the Prophet (peace be upon him) will see those vile actions and despicable morals that these people are characterized […] hypocrisy, disrespect toward God and His Messenger, deceit, trickery, flattery, lack of benefit from knowledge, hatred, envy, greed, miserliness, ingratitude, shamelessness, arrogance, pride, love of prominence, idolatry in worship, hostility to prophets and righteous people, blind imitation, concealment of knowledge, distortion of information, evasion of prohibitions, divisiveness, classism in law, bribery, lying, and filth...” 
 
April 13, 2020 
“The Prophet (peace be upon him) gave glad tidings of the total annihilation of the Jews and the killing of their leader, the Antichrist (Dajjal)... The current Jews will soon be eliminated by Muslims, who will replace them under a rightly guided Caliphate in Palestine.” 
 

April 13, 2020  
“The battle at the end of time will be between the Muslims, led by Jesus (peace be upon him), and the Jews, led by the Antichrist. It will be a swift and decisive battle.” 
 

 April 13, 2020  
“Due to the extreme wickedness and corruption of the Jews, even inanimate objects harbor hatred toward them... the rocks and trees will expose them to rid the earth of their corruption.” 
 

April 13, 2020 
“The Jews currently in Palestine will be killed and defeated as part of the Final Promise... the upcoming Caliphate will be established in Palestine.” 
 
October 10, 2023 
“The Jews stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque with brazenness and arrogance, showing the world their ugly faces and vile morals, without regard for sanctities, emotions, or humanity.” 
 

In reference to the aftermath of the Battle of Khaybar (628 CE), in which early Muslims besieged the Jewish town of Khaybar, setting the forfeiture of all Jewish property as a condition for the safe passage of Jews out of the town: 
 
March 4, 2024 
“This is the nature of hypocrites and the behavior of the Jews, which is a permanent trait: breaking covenants, disbelief in God, and killing the prophets... 
 
March 4, 2024 
“The Jews will not leave them alone but will turn against them at the first opportunity... Betrayal and treachery are ingrained characteristics in them...” 
 

Holocaust Denial 
 
January 2021, 2018 
“Expose the lies and claims of the Jews regarding the Holocaust and the massacres they claim to have suffered at the hands of the Nazis, and work to reveal their true aggressive and terrorist nature and to strip away their mask of innocence and victimhood.” 
 
Praise for Hamas Leaders 
 
October 23, 2024 
“Yahya Sinwar is one of those prominent individuals who fulfilled their promise to God [...] With his death, he dealt a new blow, no less effective than the one on October 7 [...] The images of Yahya Sinwar's capture and death turned into a new wave of 'Al-Aqsa Flood' against Israel [...] The martyrdom of Sinwar... will not lead to the demise of Hamas; rather, their heroism... will deepen the spirituality and symbolism of the movement [...] So, may God accept his martyrdom.” 
 
October 23, 2024 
“And in one year, Gaza offered three of its leaders as martyrs: Abu al-Abd (Ismail) Haniyah, Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri, and the valiant Yahya al-Sinwar…”