Dr. Hassan Ibn 'Ali Al-Kattani, the president of the Association of Scholars of the Arab Maghreb, issued a powerful public statement on Tuesday calling on the entire Islamic Ummah to rise in defense of the Palestinian people and to support the armed and moral resistance against Israeli occupation.

Dr. Kattani's statement came in direct response to a recent address by Abu Obeida, spokesperson of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, whose words have resonated deeply across the Muslim world. “This statement broke our hearts,” Kattani wrote on his official social media account. “It reminded us once again of the extent of the oppression and loneliness in Gaza.”

The prominent Moroccan scholar stressed that the suffering in Gaza is not merely a humanitarian catastrophe, but a divine test for the conscience of scholars, communities, and the entire global Muslim Ummah. “Abu Obeida's words show not only the pain in Gaza but also what kind of test we scholars, peoples, and the Ummah are facing,” he said.

Kattani issued a scathing condemnation of Arab and Muslim regimes who have either remained deafeningly silent or, worse, are complicit in Israel’s war crimes. “Most rulers in Arab and Muslim countries are not content with remaining unresponsive,” he stated. “Some of them are openly complicit in this crime. They support this genocide either by silence or de facto.”

He specifically referenced the prolonged closure of the Rafah border crossing, a critical lifeline for Gaza, as emblematic of the betrayal by regional authorities. “If the decision were left to the people,” he declared, “the Rafah Gate would have been opened long ago. The peoples would have given life to Gaza.”

As Israeli bombs continue to rain down on civilians, hospitals, mosques, and refugee camps, Kattani emphasized the urgent moral, religious, and humanitarian imperative for the Ummah to mobilize in support of Palestine. “The blood of Gaza should not remain on the ground,” he said. “All kinds of support should be given to the resistance. This is our religious, moral, and humanitarian responsibility.”

Dr. Kattani’s statement adds to the growing wave of outrage among scholars and activists across the Muslim world, as the Israeli occupation, backed by Western powers, continues its campaign of annihilation against the besieged Gaza Strip. Since October 7, Israel has killed over 200,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children, while targeting civilian infrastructure and deliberately creating conditions of famine.

The Association of Scholars of the Arab Maghreb, known for its consistent voice for oppressed peoples in the Islamic world, reiterated that silence is not neutrality—it is complicity.

Kattani’s words are a clarion call: the time for hesitation has passed. In the face of genocide, the Ummah must choose between betrayal and resistance, between silence and sacrifice. The people of Gaza, he reminded, are not alone—so long as hearts beat with the love of justice and the spirit of resistance. (ILKHA)