Al-Azhar Bans Joining the ‘Muslim Brotherhood’

Al-Azhar Bans Joining the ‘Muslim Brotherhood’
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Al-Azhar Bans Joining the ‘Muslim Brotherhood’

Al-Azhar Bans Joining the ‘Muslim Brotherhood’

Al-Azhar Fatwa Global Center said that joining the Muslim Brotherhood, which is blacklisted by Egypt, is forbidden according to Shariah law and that God has forbidden division and disagreement.

The renowned fatwa center, in its announcement, said that God forbids people from pursuing any path that distracts them from following the truth, explaining that keeping to the Qur’an and the Sunnah, in accordance with Shariah, was the only way to please God.

“It is clear to the public what these groups have done in distorting some texts, cutting them out of their context, and using them to achieve personal goals or interests and corrupting the land,” the center said in the fatwa.

“Membership in these extremist groups is considered forbidden by Shariah,” it added.

Egyptian authorities have labeled the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group since November 2014.

Hundreds of members and leaders of the organization are being tried on charges related to inciting or committing violence.

In mid-November, Saudi Arabia’s Council of Senior Scholars had also blacklisted the group.

“The Muslim Brothers’ Group is a terrorist group and [does not] represent the method of Islam, rather it blindly follows its partisan objectives that are running contrary to the guidance of our graceful religion, while taking religion as a mask to disguise its purposes in order to practice the opposite such as sedition, wreaking havoc, committing violence, and terrorism,” the council said.

In 2014, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates officially designated the group as a terrorist organization “to keep sedition at bay.” Bahrain and Egypt soon followed suit.

The countries have urged the public to stay away from the organization and not sympathize with its actions.

Khaled al-Jundi, a preacher and member of Egypt's Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, said that the Islamic world has long awaited Al- Azhar’s announcement.



Israel Says It Captured Weapons from Iran Being Smuggled to West Bank

An Israeli soldier holds a weapon during an Israeli raid, in Al-Faraa camp near Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
An Israeli soldier holds a weapon during an Israeli raid, in Al-Faraa camp near Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israel Says It Captured Weapons from Iran Being Smuggled to West Bank

An Israeli soldier holds a weapon during an Israeli raid, in Al-Faraa camp near Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
An Israeli soldier holds a weapon during an Israeli raid, in Al-Faraa camp near Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)

Israeli authorities say they seized a large cache of weapons originating in Iran and bound for Palestinian fighters in the West Bank.

A joint statement from the military and Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency on Wednesday said the cache included rockets, explosives, mortar launchers, sniper rifles and other weapons. They released photos purporting to show the weapons.

The statement did not say where the seizure took place, and the military did not respond to a request for comment.

The statement identified two units of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, one purportedly based in Syria, that it said were responsible for the smuggling, and named their commanders. It did not provide further evidence of Iran’s involvement.

Israel has carried out near-daily military raids in the occupied West Bank in recent years, targeting what it says are militants planning attacks.

The violence spiked after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Health Ministry says nearly 800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since then. There has also been a rise in Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, territories the Palestinians want for a future state.