Rumors Of War: Pakistan’s Grand Mufti Issues Fatwa Demanding Global Muslim Military Offensive

Pakistan’s Grand Mufti Issues Fatwa Demanding Global Muslim Military Offensive to Reclaim ‘Lost Islamic Lands’

Amy Mek

Pakistan’s most powerful clerics are calling on Muslim governments to unleash their armies and reclaim ‘every inch’ of land once ruled by Islam.

In a chilling declaration with global implications, Pakistan’s most influential Islamic scholars—backed by the country’s Grand Mufti—have issued a formal fatwa calling for global military jihad against the State of Israel. The ruling, delivered at the National Palestine Conference in Islamabad, demands that Muslim governments across the world deploy their national armies to wage war against what they call the “illegitimate Zionist entity.”

The event, held at the prestigious Jinnah Convention Centre and broadcast live across Pakistan, was attended by thousands of religious clerics, former judges, politicians, and activists. But this was not the usual rhetoric of outrage. It was a coordinated theological endorsement of war—backed by some of the most establishment names in Pakistan’s religious hierarchy.

“Jihad against Israel is now obligatory upon every Muslim government in the world,” declared Mufti Taqi Usmani, a revered scholar of international stature and former judge of Pakistan’s Federal Shariah Court.

His words, met with roaring chants of “Takbeer!” from the crowd, echoed across a venue packed with powerbrokers from across Pakistan’s religious and political spectrum. Usmani blasted Israel for allegedly breaking ceasefire deals and accused Muslim nations of cowardice for failing to mobilize.

“If you can watch over 50,000 of your brothers and sisters being killed before your eyes, and you cannot move to action to help them, then what use are your weapons? What use are your armies?” he asked, visibly emotional

But the most alarming justification came from Pakistan’s Grand Mufti, Maulana Muneebur Rahman, who invoked Qur’anic doctrine as the legal basis for war:

“Jihad has become obligatory on all Muslim governments on the principle of ‘land once acquired by jihad from the infidels’ must remain Islamic,” he said, citing Qur’an 59:7 and Surah An-Nisa 4:75 as mandates for global armed struggle.

In Islamic jurisprudence, lands once conquered under Islam—no matter how long ago—must not remain under non-Muslim rule. According to the fatwa and its interpreters, the current control of Israel over any portion of Palestine qualifies as a usurpation of Islamic territory.

This chilling principle implies that jihad is not simply a spiritual struggle or a defensive mechanism—it is a theological obligation to reclaim land by force, regardless of treaties, state sovereignty, or international law.

An “Establishment Fatwa” — Not a Fringe View

What makes this event unprecedented is the mainstream legitimacy of its backers. Unlike many past calls for jihad, this fatwa was issued not by terrorist groups or fringe clerics, but by men entrenched in Pakistan’s religious, legal, and educational establishment:

• Mufti Taqi Usmani – Considered one of the most respected Deobandi scholars in the Muslim world, his writings influence Islamic finance, law, and doctrine globally.
• Maulana Muneebur Rahman – Officially recognized as the Grand Mufti of Pakistan and long-time head of the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee.
• Maulana Fazlur Rahman – A powerful political figure and former government minister.

Their united message: All Muslim governments must treat Israel as an enemy combatant and act accordingly—through military means.

This fatwa comes on the heels of a similar statement by the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), founded by Muslim Brotherhood cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi and based in Qatar. IUMS Secretary General Ali al-Qaradaghi recently urged Muslim states to “intervene immediately—militarily, economically, and politically” to stop what he termed genocide in Gaza.

Mass rallies across the Muslim world—from Yemen and Algeria to Pakistan—have erupted with demonstrators chanting “The people demand jihad!” Social media is flooded with viral calls for action, painting jihad not as an extremist view, but as the collective voice of the Ummah.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s Grand Mufti Nazir Ayyad offered rare criticism, warning that such reckless calls for war could destabilize Muslim societies and backfire disastrously.

“Supporting the Palestinian people is a religious duty,” he said. “But it must be done in ways that protect lives—not by inciting global war.”

Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the fatwa is its doctrinal foundation. Scholars cited Islamic jurisprudence to justify the permanent Islamic ownership of all lands ever conquered, a list that once included:

• Spain, Portugal, and southern France
• Sicily, Malta, Greece, and Cyprus
• Serbia, Hungary, Bulgaria, North Macedonia

These historical references are not accidental. They reflect a global Islamic vision of territorial restoration through warfare—not confined to Gaza or the West Bank, but encompassing any region where Islam once ruled.

“Today, we should not be gathered here in Islamabad. Today, we should all have been gathered on the plains of Gaza,” said Usmani, his voice cracking. “We will not be able to answer before Allah with simply our verbal condemnations.”

This is not merely a theological debate inside Pakistan. The fatwa is a formal religious directive, and in Islam, fatwas issued by senior scholars can be treated as binding by millions of believers worldwide.

By framing jihad as fard ayn (a personal obligation) or fard kifayah (a collective duty of the Ummah), these scholars are mobilizing a global army—not just state leaders, but also individual Muslims who may interpret these calls as permission to act violently, wherever they are.

And while the Western media largely ignores it, the message is loud and clear:

“Muslims from Indonesia to Morocco are watching in silence,” said Usmani. “Jihad is no longer optional. It is a duty.”

This fatwa is not a cry of despair. It is a strategic declaration of war, rooted in Islamic law, backed by establishment clerics, and aimed not just at Israel—but at every government, institution, or individual that stands in the way of their vision for Islamic dominance.

The battlefield may start in Gaza, but the war they envision has no borders.