Fatah Alliance anticipates jihad fatwa from al-Sistani amid Israeli strikes on Iran
Shafaq News/ Iraq’s pro-Iranian Fatah Alliance, led by Hadi al-Amiri, said on Thursday it expects a religious decree (fatwa) for jihad to be issued by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s highest Shiite authority, in response to escalating Israeli and US actions against Iran.
Ali al-Fatlawi, a senior official within the alliance, told Shafaq News Agency that “the assault on the Islamic Republic, which defends the foundations of Islam, is not limited to the Shia sect—though it is at the forefront of the defense.” He claimed that “the weakness of Sunni Islamic leadership has made Shiite religious voices appear more dominant.”
Al-Fatlawi considered an attack on Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be tantamount to an attack on Islam itself,” likening his influence to that of Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani in Iraq.
Al-Sistani, based in the holy city of Najaf and known for his restraint in political matters, issued a rare statement earlier on Thursday warning that any strike against Iran’s top religious or political leadership would trigger regional chaos. His office described the ongoing Israeli military campaign as a violation of religious ethics, international law, and humanitarian norms.
In Shia Islamic jurisprudence, jihad refers not only to armed struggle in defense of the faith but also to moral and societal resistance in times of crisis. Al-Sistani’s last call for jihad came in 2014 when he issued a landmark fatwa urging Iraqis to take up arms against ISIS. That edict led to the formation and mobilization of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a network of mostly pro-Iranian paramilitary groups that now hold significant influence in Iraqi security and politics.
