IUMS Head Dr. Ahmed Al-Raissouni, Who Promotes Extremist, Antisemitic, Anti-Western Discourse, Joins Faculty Of Qatar University

On September 14, 2019 the Sharia and Islamic Studies Faculty in the University of Qatar announced via Twitter that Dr. Ahmed Al-Raissouni, head of the International Union of Muslims Scholars (IUMS), has joined its teaching staff.[1] The website of the IUMS reported that Al-Raissouni will teach at the university for three to four months during the coming academic year. [2]

Qatar University's announcement welcoming Al-Raissouni to the faculty

Al-Raissouni is known for promoting extremist, anti-Western and antisemitic discourse in his statements and writings and in communiques issued by the IUMS, which he has headed since November 2018. The IUMS, which is supported by Qatar and Turkey, [3] was founded in 2004 by Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradawi, who headed it until late last year. Considered to be a major ideologue of the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Qaradawi resides in Qatar and has been supported and sponsored for decades by the Qatari regime. He and the IUMS under his directorship likewise promoted an extremist discourse, including rhetoric against Jews and Christians and encouragement of jihad and martyrdom.[4]

As stated, this extremism continues to be disseminated by Al-Raissouni and by the IUMS under his directorship. The following are examples from reports published by MEMRI in the recent months.

IUMS Under Al-Raissouni Supports Jihad In Palestine

In a statement it issued on June 23, 2019, the IUMS called on the Muslim nation and the Arab leaders to boycott the Peace to Prosperity workshop in Bahrain, which was held on June 25-26 to discuss the economic part of the U.S. administration's peace initiative known as "The Deal of the Century." The statement, signed by Al-Raissouni and by IUMS  secretary-general Dr. 'Ali Al-Qaradaghi, blasted the Arab leaders for "rushing towards the deal" instead of rejecting it and for falling over each other in their haste to serve the enemies. It warned them that the current and future generations may curse them and that Allah may condemn them for this on the Day of Judgement. The statement also urged the Arab leaders, the entire Muslim nation and "all people of conscience in the world" to take part in restoring Palestine to its rightful owners, since this is a religious and human duty, and to support the jihad of the Palestinian people against the occupiers.[5]

IUMS Under Al-Raissouni: Resurrection Day Will Come Only When The Muslims Fight The Jews And Kill Them; Jihad Is The Way To Liberate Al-Aqsa

In an earlier statement, from April 1, 2019, the IUMS called for armed jihad against Israel. The statement, which contained antisemitic themes, said: "Worshipping Allah and waging jihad for His sake are the path to liberating the blessed Al-Aqsa mosque... When the Prophet Muhammad spoke of the battle to liberate Al-Aqsa from the hands of the Jews, he explained that the battle cry is 'Worship Allah the Almighty,' since according to the Muslim's collection [of the most important Sunni hadiths], the Sahih Muslim, the Prophet Muhammad said: 'Resurrection Day will come only when the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, and if a Jew hides behind a rock or a tree, the rock or tree will say: Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him...' This explains clearly that the path to liberating Al-Aqsa Mosque begins with the actual worship of Allah, submission to Him alone, and obedience to His precepts...

"It is clear as day that the Jews have no fear of negotiating or dialogue, but they quake with fear in the face of the young people who have been raised on the principles of [the Islamic] faith and on the precepts of the Quran. Proof of this is the young Palestinian mujahideen, who have made the Jews taste fear and have shaken their entity [i.e. Israel] with their heroic jihadi operations. They carried a gun in one hand, and a Quran in the other..."[6]

Al-Raissouni In Response To New Zealand Mosque Massacres: The West Is Responsible For The Attack

The incitement spread by Al-Raissouni and his IUMS does not prevent them from decrying hate crimes against Muslims and blaming them on the West as a whole. Following the massacre perpetrated on March 15, 2019 in two New Zealand mosques by an Australian white supremacist, the IUMS called on non-Muslim states to ban the dissemination of hatred against Islam. The statement, which was read out by Dr. Ahmad Al-Raissouni, urged non-Muslim countries to "prohibit the dissemination of hatred and alarmist messages against Islam, [because] these racist crimes are among the results of [the dissemination of such hatred]." In an interview on Al-Jazeera TV,  Al-Raissouni held all Western countries responsible for the New Zealand massacre, because, he said, the organizations which orchestrate campaigns against Islam and Muslims operate openly in those countries. He added, however, that the real issue is no longer the anti-Islamic movements and organizations, but states that take action against Muslims, stating that, "in Western countries today the spirit of a Crusader war against the Muslims is reawakening."[7]

Al-Raissouni In Article Posted On His Website: ISIS Is A Creation Of Elements Hostile To The Arabs And Muslims; The War On It Serves Western Interests

In an article he posted on his personal website on May 22, 2019, Al-Raissouni called ISIS a creation of "elements hostile to Arabs and [Sunni] Muslims," referring to the West, particularly the U.S., as well as to Syria, Iraq, and Iran. The war on ISIS, he added, actually serves the interests of the West, which profits hugely from the opportunities to sell and test weapons and train fighters.[8]

Al-Raissouni In Article On IUMS Website: The Holocaust Must Be Questioned

In an article he posted on the IUMS website and on his personal website and Facebook page, titled "Why It Is Necessary to Question the Holocaust," Al-Raissouni claimed that the Holocaust has acquired an "exaggerated halo" and that questioning its veracity and scope is not only a right but an obligation. Listing ten reasons for this, he stated, inter alia, that the Holocaust narrative, fabricated by the Zionist movement, has been sanctified and imposed on the world, to the extent that there are "campaigns that slander, intimidate, exclude and besiege anyone who dares to think independently about it or about any of its fake details or statistics." Moreover, he said, the Holocaust narrative consists of claims that are "politically slanted and questionable" and many of which cannot be verified.[9]