Qatar-Based Group Aligned With Muslim Brotherhood Backs Iran Against Israel

A network of Islamist clerics is exploiting the conflict in Iran to push its hardline agenda. Scholars aligned with the pro-Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) are celebrating Iranian missile attacks on Tel Aviv. On June 23, the IUMS published an article by Turkish scholar and politician Yasin Aktay, who exulted how “the Arab streets received the images of Iranian missiles striking Tel Aviv with overwhelming joy!” Another IUMS member posted on X, “let there be more [Iranian strikes] and bless [those who carry them out].”

These statements align with the IUMS’s institutional views. On June 14, the IUMS condemned what it called the “blatant Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran.” The union’s secretary-general, Ali al-Qaradaghi, declared, “It is impossible to remain silent in the face of this injustice.” In addition to calling for financial pressure against Israel, he asserted that resistance should include “encouraging action by young people and human rights activists.” Under al-Qaradaghi’s leadership, the IUMS issued a fatwa in March calling for “armed jihad” against Israel, suggesting that such “action” could entail violence. On June 13, the organization posted about a conference it hosted during which Hamas’s October 7 attack was referred to as “a flood of pride and sacrifice.”

Qatar-Backed International Union of Muslim Scholars Preaches Radicalism

The IUMS is a global network of Islamic scholars that is broadly aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood. Former Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani sponsored the creation of the IUMS in 2004, and it is reportedly backed by the Qatari royal family. From its founding until 2018, the IUMS was chaired by the late Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian-born cleric who guided the Muslim Brotherhood. Qaradawi previously promoted his Islamist teachings as the host of a primetime talk show on Al Jazeera.

In 2004, Qaradawi endorsed Palestinian suicide bombings against Israelis, which he told the BBC were “evidence of God’s justice.” In the same interview, Qaradawi intimated that Israeli civilians, including women, are legitimate targets because some serve in the military. Qaradawi likewise legitimized the kidnapping and murder of American “civilians and soldiers” in Iraq.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Blueprint

Founded by schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928 in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood began as a grassroots Islamist revivalist movement that gained traction by filling gaps left by the state, particularly among Egypt’s urban poor, through services in health and education. Beneath these civic offerings lay a deeper ambition: the Islamization of society. Al-Banna famously declared, “Islam is the solution.”

More than two decades later, numerous members moved in a more radical direction under the influence of Egyptian educator Sayyid Qutb. His writings laid the ideological groundwork for legitimizing violence and extremism as part of the Brotherhood’s approach to achieving its goals.

By the mid-20th century, the Brotherhood had expanded across the Arab world, promoting a vision of society in which Islam was the only legitimate foundation for government. In some contexts, it engages in violence and terrorism. In others, it participates in the political process, even competing in elections, though its dedication to democratic government remains suspect.

U.S. Explores Terror Designation for Muslim Brotherhood

A bipartisan effort is emerging in Congress to designate the entire Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), though previous attempts made little headway. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) wrote a letter to President Donald Trump on June 3 urging him to explore designating the Brotherhood as an FTO. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) are likewise spearheading legislation to designate the Brotherhood as an FTO.

A different approach would be to identify specific branches of the Brotherhood that merit designation because they either engage in violence or provide support to other terrorist organizations. Hamas, the Brotherhood’s Palestinian branch, has remained on the FTO list since 1997.

Natalie Ecanow is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where Mariam Wahba is a research analyst. For more analysis from Natalie, Mariam, and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Natalie on X @NatalieEcanow. Follow Mariam on X @themariamwahba. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on foreign policy and national security.