Eurasia Press & News
In August 22- 29, 2025, a high-level Islamic conference was held in Istanbul under the title “Gaza: An Islamic and Humanitarian Responsibility.” Sponsored by Turkey and Qatar and attended by 150 senior Muslim clerics from 50 countries, the conference was aimed at expressing unequivocal support for the Hamas terrorist organization and opposition to its disarmament, and at mobilizing the Islamic nation to wage jihad against Israel, in all its forms.
The conference was sponsored by a Turkish government body, the Presidency of Religious Affairs, and initiated by the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS). The latter organization is funded and backed by Qatar and Turkey and functions as their arm for the dissemination of extremist Islamist ideology that incites jihad and terrorism against Israel and the West.[1]At the close of the conference, Turkish President Recep Erdogan met with a delegation of conference participants and expressed his support for the event and for its decisions.[2]
In addition to expressing firm support for Hamas and its struggle against Israel, and opposition to disarming it, the closing statement of the conference set out a military, political, economic and legal roadmap for support for Hamas and the struggle against Israel, while blatantly challenging the foreign and domestic policy of several Arab countries. It called to mobilize the Islamic nation for jihad and to breach the sea, air, and land blockade on the Gaza Strip “by every means,” albeit without specifying what these means might be. It also urged to open the border crossings with Gaza in order to enable access to it, echoing statements by Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas’s leader in Qatar, who urged the people of Jordan and Egypt to storm the border with Israel in order to reach Gaza and help it.[3]
In addition, the closing statement urged mass protests and implored all countries to permit them. More than this, it exhorted all countries to sever their relations with Israel and “its allies,” alluding to the U.S. and other Western countries, and to close their waterways to Israeli ships. It recommended to establish a waqf foundation and recruit funds for the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip once the war ends, with Hamas remaining part of the government, and for supporting “the steadfastness of Palestinian society.”
In the statement, the conference organizers attributed immense importance to the event, describing it as a turning point and “the beginning of the end of the Zionist occupation project.” This echoes the official Qatari-Turkish stance that endorses the position of Hamas, which persists in its jihad against Israel and refuses to surrender its weapons. The closing statement also ratifies the charter issued by a conference of Muslim clerics held in Istanbul in late June, which granted religious sanction to Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack and to its right to bear arms.[4] These two clerics’ conferences, held in Istanbul within several weeks of each other, both of them intended to enlist Muslim support for Hamas and its right to hold weapons, reflect the support this movement receives from Turkey and Qatar. They also reflect the concern felt by Hamas’s supporters and patrons, that measures being taken today may ultimately lead to its collapse or at least to its disarmament.
It should be noted that Qatar and Turkey attempt to position themselves as mediators of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Furthermore, they endorsed the New York Declaration, issued by the Conference on the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, held in New York in late July 2025 at the initiative of Saudi Arabia and France, which condemned Hamas’s October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and called on it to disarm and cede control of the Gaza Strip.[5] The closing statement of the August conference contradicts the positions presented in the New York Declaration.
This report reviews the closing statement of the “Gaza: An Islamic and Humanitarian Responsibility” conference held in Istanbul in late August.
Conference On “Gaza: An Islamic and Humanitarian Responsibility”
As mentioned, the conference was the outcome of official Qatari-Turkish cooperation and was sponsored by the Presidency of Religious Affairs, a Turkish government body headed by Dr. Ali Al-Erbas. The conference was led by Ali Al-Qaradaghi, chairman of the IUMS, which is based in Qatar and receives both Qatari and Turkish funding to disseminate extremist Islamist and anti-Western ideology and a discourse of hatred and incitement to jihad, terrorism and anti-Semitism. Al-Qaradaghi, known for his extremist positions, recently stated that Islamic countries must wage jihad to save the people of Gaza, and called on Jordan and Egypt to open their borders and allow their residents to march into Israel.[6] Also involved in organizing the conference was the Foundation for Islamic Scholars, an unofficial Turkish body headed by Professor Nasrullah Haci Moftuoglu.[7]
The Conference Closing Statement: The Islamic Nation Must Prepare Itself With Military Force And Jihad For The Sake Of Allah; We Salute Hamas
The closing statement of the conference was read out by IUMS chairman Ali Al-Qaradaghi at a gathering held by some of the participants at the Aya Sophia in Istanbul, a former Byzantine church that was recently converted into a mosque.
The statement begins by asserting the necessity to wage jihad: “The Islamic nation must be generally prepared [itself] with knowledge, military force, reverence for Allah, and jihad for the sake of Allah in all its forms. Allah said: ‘And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy…’ (Quran 8:60). He also said: ‘O believers! Shall I show you a bargain that will deliver you from a painful punishment? [It is to] have faith in Allah and His Messenger, and wage jihad in the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives. That is best for you, if only you knew.’ (Quran 61:10-11) …”
The statement goes on to say that “the issue of Gaza is no longer a local issue. It is a religious and humanitarian responsibility of the Islamic nation and the entire world. [The conference] calls for general mobilization to stop the [Israeli] aggression and to open humanitarian corridors.”
The statement notes that “the conference conveys its messages from the Aya Sophia Mosque. [The first message is] to Gaza: ‘We are all with you.’ The second is to the free resistance: ‘[We] salute your jihad, your readiness for battle and your legitimate struggle, for your victory is the victory of truth, justice and the freedom of mankind.’ Another message [responds to] the Zionist plan to establish ‘Greater Israel’ at the expense of eight Arab and Islamic countries, [and says]: ‘The world [that has emerged] after this [closing] statement is different from the world that was before. This statement is the beginning of the end of the Zionist occupation project…
“Today, we do not announce the conclusion of the conference on ‘Gaza: An Islamic and Humanitarian Responsibility,’ but rather the commencement of the conference’s action to implement the important decisions it made…”
Following this preamble, the statement, as read out by Al-Qaradaghi, summarizes the positions, decisions and recommendations agreed upon at the conference, which convey opposition to the disarming of Hamas, sanction its terrorist operations, urge to mobilize the Islamic nation for jihad and call to support Gaza, under Hamas rule, by extending it military, economic, political and legal assistance.
The following is a translation of the main recommendations:
"A total rejection of any call to disarm the resistance and a firm emphasis on the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to wage resistance of every kind – including armed resistance – against the Zionist occupation, and [a call to] mobilize the Islamic nation to wage jihad for the sake of Allah, in all its forms.
"A resolute call to break the aerial, naval and land blockade imposed on Gaza, and to immediately open all the crossings, by every available means, including by supporting the Freedom Flotilla [Coalition][8] by [providing it] with a large number of vessels…
"The establishment of a Waqf fundoundation and a call for businesspeople, economic and financial institutions, and all those with [financial] means in the Islamic world to allocate at least two percent of their annual profit to development and aid efforts in Gaza. This must be done by means of legal and transparent mechanisms, in a manner that will help build sustainable support networks to strengthen the resilience of Palestinian society.
"Publication of the fatwa issued by the Muslim scholars who attended the conference, aimed at allocating at least 50% of the zakat funds[9] in the coming year to the objective of supporting Gaza, and at expediting this [measure]…
"The conference calls on Islamic countries, businesspeople and economic institutions to adopt a comprehensive plan for the rehabilitation of Gaza immediately upon the cessation of the aggression, and to transform [Gaza] into a model of revival and heroism.
"A call for all countries, especially the Islamic ones, to immediately sever all their relations with the occupying Zionist entity and with anyone who supports it – including political, economic and military [ties] – in accordance with the principles of the Islamic shari'a and international law, which enjoin [us] to battle tyranny and restrain the occupation and its ongoing violations.
"The shari'a forbids maintaining commercial ties, or anything resembling them, with the occupying Zionists, or to allow their ships to traverse the waterways of the Islamic countries. This ruling applies to individuals, companies and governments.
"A call on Muslim scholars to urge mass demonstrations and protest strikes, and on governments to respect the civil rights of their peoples and remove all restrictions on public liberties – especially on freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate peacefully and express support for Gaza and opposition to the continuation of the war – as required by international charters of human rights.
"The decisions of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court must be implemented, and the international justice system must commence proceedings against the perpetrators of the crimes of extermination, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza… We demand that the Islamic countries and the free countries establish criminal tribunals in their territory to prosecute the war criminals…
"The IUMS contends that the countries likely to be harmed by the 'Greater Israel' plan [i.e. Jordan, Lebanon and Syria] bear the responsibility of dealing with the enemy's plans and initiating tangible and pragmatic measures to deter it and confront it…"[10]
