In the recent weeks, the Cairo-based Al-Azhar institution, the leading center of religious learning and supreme source of religious authority in the Sunni Muslim world, and senior members of this institution, have been voicing support for Hamas and for terrorism and inciting against the U.S. and Israel, while using virulently antisemitic rhetoric. For example, a fatwa (religious ruling) recently issued by Al-Azhar praised the Palestinian resistance and even called on Israeli Arabs to join the struggle against Israel, saying that this country is destined to perish. Senior Al-Azhar clerics, including Muhammad Omar Al-Qady, dean of the Faculty for Islamic and Arabic Studies at Al-Azhar University, and Abbas Shuman, formerly the deputy of Sheikh Al-Azhar and currently the inspector general of the institute’s fatwa committees, incited against Israel and made antisemitic remarks, calling the Jews “descendants of apes and pigs,” “killers of the prophets” and “enemies of humanity” and hoping for their perdition. Al-Qady also directed his invective at the U.S., calling it the “greatest Satan” and a “mafia” state with a “drunken” president.
These statements are part of the unreserved support for Hamas that has been voiced by Al-Azhar since the latter’s October 7 terror attack in southern Israel, in which some 1,400 people were killed and about 240 were kidnapped. In a statement it issued on the day after the attack, Al-Azhar “saluted” Hamas’ massacre,[1] and in subsequent statements it claimed that the media coverage of the attack was fraudulent and that supporting the Palestinians with money, resources and gear is a “religious duty.” In addition, perhaps due to Egypt’s fear of being inundated with refugees from Gaza, Al-Azhar called on the Gazans not to leave their land, saying that martyrdom is preferable to migration.[2]
It should be noted that the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Tayyeb, is known for his extremist positions and support for terrorism and terrorist organizations, and refuses to promote moderate religious discourse as part of the fight against extremism. This is despite his frequent participation in interfaith dialogue and although he signed the Document on Human Fraternity along with Pope Francis in 2019.[3]
The following are examples of the antisemitic and inciting rhetoric spread by Al-Azhar and its senior members against Israel, the U.S. and the Jews in the last few weeks.
Al-Azhar Fatwa: The Occupying Entity Will Perish And The Lives Of The Martyrs Will Be Longer Than Those Of Their Murderers
On October 18, 2023, Al-Azhar’s “Global Center for Online Fatwas” posted a fatwa on its Facebook page which predicts Israel’s demise. The fatwa expresses support for Hamas’ terrorism, calling it “resistance,” and states that “the term ‘civilians’ does not apply to the Zionist settlers of the occupied land,” which can be read as religious permission to target them. The fatwa also encourages Israeli Arabs to join the struggle against Israel, which it calls “a cancer in the heart of the Islamic Arab nation,” and urged the Arab and Islamic peoples to support the Palestinians. The following are translated excerpts from the fatwa:
“…In its steadfastness, resistance and persistent adherence to its land, the Palestinian people continue to present a model of heroism, despite the danger of the arbitrary Zionist bombardment. It [also] places the world – which remains silent, neglects or [even] encourages these crimes – in a great human and moral predicament, removing the fake mask of humaneness from its ugly face.
“The term ‘civilian’ does not apply to the Zionist settlers of the occupied land. Rather, they are occupiers of the land who usurp rights, disregard the ways of the prophets, and attack the holy sites in historic Jerusalem and the [sites of] Islamic and Christian heritage there…
“The world deliberately ignores the fact that the occupying Zionist entity is a cancer in the heart of the Islamic and Arab nation. According to international conventions and laws, occupying forces have no right to the land, the resources and the holy sites [they are occupying], and their aggression must necessarily be met with resistance against their usurpation, oppression and tyranny.
“The current resistance activity is a new link in the ongoing chain of the Palestinian people’s struggle against the terrorism of the occupying and usurping Zionist entity…
“The Palestinian interior [i.e., the Israeli Arabs] must join ranks against this despicable occupier and cleave to their just [Palestinian] cause, without fearing the occupation’s vicious means and ways… which are destined to disappear…
“The Arab and Islamic peoples must not abandon their Palestinian brothers but rather support them with all their might, each according to its ability, standing and influence…
“Oh proud Palestine and our blessed Jerusalem… in times of distress, Allah will provide succor. The occupying entity will perish and the lives of the martyrs will be longer than those of their murderers. Allah’s promise is truth and his victory will come…”[4]
Faculty Dean At Al-Al-Azhar University: May Allah Bring Perdition Upon The “Cursed,” “Treacherous” Jews, “The Descendants Of Apes And Pigs”
Addressing Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel in a series of posts on his personal Facebook account, Muhammad Omar Al-Qady, dean of the Faculty for Islamic and Arabic Studies at Al-Azhar University, made virulently antisemitic remarks, glorified the jihad in Palestine and wished perdition upon the Jews. One of the posts, headed “Al-Aqsa Flood” (Hamas’ name for the attack), read: “[When I say] resistance I mean the jihad fighters in Palestine, who defend their honor and land, those who fight against their enemy and ours, namely the Jews… This honorable resistance, which is waging jihad and will be rewarded [for it] by Heaven, has made achievements and brought about changes, the most important of which can be briefly summarized as follows:
“It brought the Palestinian issue back to the center of global attention, after it had almost disappeared and been forgotten… It managed to shatter the false myth about the might of the Israeli army and prove that it is weak and exhausted… It proved that the entire West – with the exception of the peoples – is a single community, especially the governments of the greatest Satan, America, and of the European countries, who follow the orders of the Zionist lobby that is part of [the camp of] our treacherous enemy… It managed to eliminate, if only for a while, the vast enterprise of [Israel’s] normalization with many Arab and Islamic countries, which was making large and rapid strides… [The resistance] also made additional achievements, which will be discussed in the future. I ask Allah to strengthen His soldiers and his camp and grant our brothers in Gaza, in Palestine and in the rest of the Muslim countries victory over their enemy and ours, the enemy of Allah and humanity, the cursed descendants of apes and pigs [i.e., the Jews].”[5]