Gaza’s Top Islamic Scholar Condemns Hamas Attack

 Very interesting about the timing of this fatwa by Gaza’s top scholar.  A few days after the election of Trump he publishes 6 page paper explaining how the attack of October 7, where Hamas invaded Israel and raped, burned and slaughtered 1200 people, was wrong.  Why?  Not because of the rape and murder, but because the overwhelming response and destruction that Israel responded with, and the fact that Hamas is hiding in schools, hospitals and civilian homes and all are getting blown up, means “it was in direct contradiction to the teachings of Islam.”

Trump is elected for a few days and the world is changing.

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Dr Dayah argues that the significant civilian casualties in Gaza, together with the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure and humanitarian disaster that have followed the 7 October attack, means that it was in direct contradiction to the teachings of Islam.

Hamas, he says, has failed in its obligations of “keeping fighters away from the homes of defenceless [Palestinian] civilians and their shelters, and providing security and safety as much as possible in the various aspects of life... security, economic, health, and education, and saving enough supplies for them.”

Dr Dayah points to Quranic verses and the Sunnah that set strict conditions for the conduct of jihad, including the necessity of avoiding actions that provoke an excessive and disproportionate response by an opponent.

His fatwa highlights that, according to Islamic law, a military raid should not trigger a response that exceeds the intended benefits of the action.

He also stresses that Muslim leaders are obligated to ensure the safety and well-being of non-combatants, including by providing food, medicine, and refuge to those not involved in the fighting.

“Human life is more precious to God than Mecca,” Dr Dayah states.

His opposition to the 7 October attack is especially significant given his deep influence in Gaza, where he is seen as a key religious figure and a vocal critic of Islamist movements, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

His moderate Salafist beliefs place him in direct opposition to Hamas’s approach to armed resistance and its ties to Shia-ruled Iran.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4vw1l8xvdo