The European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) is a

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

-based private foundation, founded in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 29–30 March 1997 on the initiative of the

Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe The Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE) was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood in 1989. FIOE subsequently created the European Council for Fatwa and Research, a pan European Muslim Brotherhood organisation which provides guidance ...

. The council is a largely self-selected body, composed of Islamic clerics and scholars, presided over by Yusuf al-Qaradawi.

Goals and methodology

The stated goal of the ECFR is to issue

fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist ...

s that serve the needs of Muslims in Europe. The ECRF draws on all major schools of Sunni law as well as other traditional legal principles, such as objectives of sharia, concern for the public good, local custom, and the prevention of harm, in an effort to derive fatwas suitable for life in Europe. This methodology is intended to address situations which would be difficult to manage under a stricter interpretation of Islamic law, including using the doctrine of ''darura'' (necessity) to permit traditionally prohibited actions. The rulings of ECFR are nonbinding and are adopted through social acceptance.

Membership

As of 2007, roughly two-thirds of the ECFR's 35 members resided in North America and Europe and the rest were from Muslim-majority countries. Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a prominent Egyptian-born jurist residing in Qatar, has served as the chairman of the ECFR since its founding. The composition of the membership was intended to buttress legitimacy of the Council both in the West and in the Muslim world.

Positions and reception

A 2001 ECRF ruling allowed a female convert to Islam to remain married to her non-Muslim husband, based in part on the existence of European laws and customs which guarantee women the freedom of religion. Rulings of this kind have been welcomed by some, but also criticized by others as being overly eclectic in legal methodology and having potential to negatively impact the interpretation of sharia in Muslim-majority countries. In August 2005, ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' reported that although the council's stated goal was to help Muslims integrate into European society, it is dominated by non-Europeans who have little grasp of what is acceptable in the West. A member of the Council cited the

anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

forgery known as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion in a position paper arguing that Muslim families are under threat in Europe. It also reported that "the council is part of a web of organizations that spread ideology close to the Muslim Brotherhood throughout Europe".

Cooperation with other Islamic organisations in Europe

# Al-Maktoum Charity Organisation, Dublin,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

Millî Görüş Millî Görüş (, "National Outlook" or "National Vision") is a religious-political movement and a series of Islamist parties inspired by Necmettin Erbakan. It argues that Turkey can develop with its own human and economic power by protectin ...

(German and other sections) # Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe # European Islamic Council in Belgium

Members of the ECFR

# Yusuf al-Qaradawi, President of ECFR (

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

) # Faisal Maulawi, Vice-President (

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

). # Hussein Mohammed Halawa, General Secretary (

) # Dr. Ahmad Jaballah (

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) # Dr. Ahmed Ali Al-Imam (

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

) # Mufti Ismail Kashoulfi (

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

) # Ahmed Kadhem Al-Rawi (United Kingdom) # Ounis Qurqah (France) # Rashid al-Ghannushi (Tunisia) # Abdallah Bin Bayyah (

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

) # Abdul Raheem Al-Taweel (

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) # Abdullah Ibn Ali Salem (

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

) #

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, (United Kingdom) # Abdul Majeed Al-Najjar # Abdullah ibn Sulayman Al-Manee' (Saudi Arabia) # Dr. Abdul Sattar Abu Ghudda (Saudi Arabia) # Dr. Ajeel Al-Nashmi (

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Ku ...

) # Al-Arabi Al-Bichri (France) # Dr. Issam Al-Bashir (Sudan) # Ali Qaradaghi (Qatar) # Dr. Suhaib Hasan Ahmed (United Kingdom) # Tahir Mahdi (France) # Mahboub-ul-Rahman (

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) # Muhammed Siddique (

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) # Muhammad Ali Saleh Al-Mansour (

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

) # Dr. Muhammed Al-Hawari (Germany) # Mahumoud Mujahed (

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

) # Dr. Mustafa Cerić (

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

) # Nihad Abdul Quddous Ciftci (Germany) # Dr. Naser Ibn Abdullah Al-Mayman (Saudi Arabia) # Yusf Ibram (

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

) #

Salah Soltan (, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba with ...

(

, United States) #

Salem Abdelmeguid Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

(

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

) # Jasser Auda (

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

) Half of the members are from the European continent and half are from the Arabian Peninsula, Northern Africa or Northern America. This is a breach of the internal rules of the ECFR, as members not residing in Europe "must not constitute more than 25% of the total members of the Council at any one time".

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1997 establishments in England Islamic organisations based in Ireland Fatwas Islamic organizations established in 1997