(JNS) A major Islamic organisation has issued a legal ruling against the Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas, saying that its treatment of the millions of Palestinians under its rule goes against the religion.

The fatwa, or legal opinion, was announced by the Iraqi-based Islamic Fatwa Council. The non-governmental body of Sunni, Shia and Sufi clerics said it was in response to testimonies from Gaza residents published last month in a series of video clips by the US-based Center for Peace Communications (CPS).

In the video series, titled “Whispered in Gaza,” Palestinians (whose identities are protected) are shown blaming Hamas, not Israel, for their plight.

Hamas, in power since 2007 following a violent takeover, is charged by the Islamic Fatwa Council with violating the laws of the Koran and the prophet Muhammad for its “reign of corruption and terror against Palestinian citizens within Gaza”.

The fatwa continues: “It is prohibited to pray for, join, support, finance, or fight on behalf of Hamas, an entity that adheres to the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood movement.”

The Islamic Fatwa Council also said that it joins the UAE Fatwa Council and the Council of Senior Scholars of Saudi Arabia in “declaring the Muslim Brotherhood and all of its branches as terrorist organisations that defame Islam and operate in opposition to mainstream Islamic unity, theology and jurisprudence”.

While the ruling is non-binding, the Islamic Fatwa Council is considered to be highly influential in the Muslim world.

This is the first fatwa against Hamas from an Islamic legislative body.

The CPS says that it “works through media, schools, and centres of spiritual and moral leadership in the Middle East and North Africa to roll back divisive ideologies and foster a mindset of inclusion and engagement”.