13 May 2020; MEMO: The Association of Religious Scholars in Palestine issued a fatwa on Tuesday that bans the watching of Saudi television programmes ('Umm Haroun' filmed in the UAE) which encourage and praise the normalising of ties with Israel. Details of the Islamic legal opinion were provided at a press conference.
“The Association looks with great doubt at the series which encourage and hail the normalisation of ties with the Israeli occupation,” explained Dr Marwan Abu Ras, the group’s lead official. “We condemn the frenzied campaign of the TV channels run by Arabs and Muslims, and subsidised by Muslim money, against Islamic values and culture.”
Such channels, added the Sheikh, are the mouthpiece of the Zionist entity and are dedicated to fighting against virtue and spread vice. “Watching these series is haram [forbidden] and boycotting them is a religious duty because they oppose the real principles of the Muslims, Arabs and the Palestinians.”
The fatwa was prompted by a number of drama series produced by Saudi TV channels to be aired during the holy month of Ramadan. The programmes praise the occupation state of Israel and whitewash its crimes against the Palestinians while encouraging normalisation.
Relate content: Um Haroon and the politics of normalisation in the Gulf
