How an IUMS Fatwa Fuels Radicalism in Europe

On March 28, 2025, the Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), an organization with longstanding ideological ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, issued a sweeping religious edict, a fatwa, declaring “armed jihad” against Israel an individual obligation for every Muslim. Ostensibly a response to the ongoing war in Gaza, the fatwa’s scope and tone are anything but local. With its calls for military confrontation, coordinated boycotts, and the severing of diplomatic ties with Israel, this declaration has sent an unmistakable ideological shockwave far beyond the Middle East.

For European nations, especially Germany, this is more than a theological proclamation. It is a political signal. A challenge to liberal pluralism. A test of integration policy. And a reminder that in today’s digital landscape, ideological warfare knows no borders.

The language of the fatwa is unambiguous. It urges Muslim governments to form a unified Islamic military coalition, demands an immediate halt to all normalization agreements with Israel, and brands any cooperation with the “Zionist entity,” whether economic, military, or logistical, as a betrayal of Islam. While Israel is the explicit target, the fatwa’s narrative expands its focus: Muslims worldwide are called to pressure their governments into severing ties with Israel. The United States is named. European allies are implicated by association.

This is not the fringe voice of an obscure cleric. The IUMS remains an influential platform, previously chaired by Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s most prominent ideologue, whose sermons inspired generations of political Islamists. The fatwa, issued amid global polarization and anti-Israel agitation, adds fuel to ideological fires already burning in parts of Europe. While not a direct catalyst for violence, such pronouncements may reinforce the worldview of already-radicalized individuals or fringe communities sympathetic to extremist messaging.

Germany, with a Muslim population estimated between 5.3 and 5.6 million, finds itself navigating this terrain with particular sensitivity. These numbers include a wide diversity of beliefs, ethnicities, and political views, not all practicing and certainly not uniformly aligned with Islamist ideologies. And yet, Germany’s historical responsibility to protect Jewish life, combined with its enduring commitment to Israel, puts it squarely in the path of ideological crossfire.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has long monitored Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated organizations. The concern is not abstract. Germany has witnessed increasing tensions on its streets, mass protests, polarizing slogans, and antisemitic incidents that have intensified since October 7, 2023. The fatwa’s rhetoric may embolden hardline actors in urban communities such as Berlin, Cologne, and Frankfurt, particularly when echoed by diaspora influencers or sympathetic imams.

More subtly, and perhaps more dangerously, the fatwa reframes identity itself. It suggests that loyalty to the Muslim ummah must override national allegiance. In the context of European civic life, that’s an existential challenge. Programs designed to foster civic participation, pluralism, and shared democratic values risk being drowned out by louder narratives casting the West as complicit and Israel as the enemy.

Germany’s Jewish community already feels the toll. Synagogues have faced attacks. Jewish students on university campuses report increasing hostility. Tourists from Israel now assess safety in German cities with a caution that would have once seemed excessive. The symbolic breach, that Germany might not be a safe haven, is deeply painful and politically perilous.

The economic ramifications of the fatwa, while limited in direct effect, should not be ignored. German companies in sectors such as defense, cybersecurity, and energy, particularly those working with Israeli partners, could face reputational campaigns or digital harassment. So far, no documented fallout is explicitly tied to the fatwa, but ideological activism continues to intensify online.

It is important to retain perspective. Europe’s Muslim populations are not monolithic. Many reject extremism. In Germany, mainstream Islamic organizations have not endorsed the IUMS fatwa and are exceedingly unlikely to do so. Law enforcement and intelligence services remain among the most capable in Europe, and civil society programs continue to invest in deradicalization and integration.

Still, this fatwa must not be dismissed. It is not just a call to arms; it is a call to identity. A call to allegiance. And that makes it an ideological weapon. One that exploits democratic freedoms to attack democratic values from within.

For Israel, it is another reminder that the battle for legitimacy does not end at the border fence. It is waged in international institutions, digital platforms, and diaspora communities. For Europe, and especially Germany, it is a warning that Islamist messaging forged abroad can destabilize social cohesion at home, particularly when fused with populist, anti-Western sentiment.

Germany, as Europe’s political and economic anchor, must lead the response. This means standing unequivocally with Israel while simultaneously safeguarding its Jewish population. It means expanding counter-radicalization efforts in vulnerable communities and strengthening platforms that champion civic unity and democratic values. And it means refusing to accommodate, or excuse, any movement that wraps incitement in religious garb.

The greatest threat this fatwa poses is not to economies or armies. It is to the ideological fabric of open societies. Europe must rise to meet it, not with panic, but with principle.

The battle for moderation will not be won in war rooms but in classrooms, on sidewalks, and inside places of worship, and the cost of losing that battle will be borne not only by Jews but by every European who believes in a future built on freedom, not fear.