Thieves in the Name of God and Gaza: When "Honorable" and "Pious" Plunderers Quarrel Over the Spoils (article)

.

.

Thieves in the Name of God and Gaza: When "Honorable" and "Pious" Plunderers Quarrel Over the Spoils

Between 2024 and 2026, the current landscape reveals chapters of a major moral and political tragedy, reflecting the transformation of the Palestinian cause into a financial asset traded in the "market of sanctity." Documents and analyses point toward a complex structure of financial appropriation managed by networks affiliated with the International Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood, in cooperation with its various branches.

The relationship between the Hamas terrorist movement—as a faction emerging from the Brotherhood school—and the international Sharia bodies and endowments (Waqf) belonging to the organization has revealed a unique pattern. Religious symbols and the suffering of Gaza are converted into justifications for collecting astronomical donations. In this context, religious institutions have shifted from tools of proselytization to commercial and financial facades practicing fraud and parasitism on the emotions of the masses, exploiting deep sympathies to amass hundreds of millions of dollars.

The conflict that exploded publicly at the beginning of 2024 was merely the result of sharp disputes over the distribution of these "spoils" or financial shares among the warring parties. The famous statement by the Hamas terrorist movement lifting cover from institutions such as the "Ummah Endowment" (Waqf al-Umma) represents the pinnacle of the contradiction between thieves and criminals wearing the mantle of resistance, and thieves and criminals wearing the turbans of scholars.

The Architecture of Plunder: Role Distribution

The organizational mapping of this conflict reveals a precise distribution of roles:

 * Hamas: Acts as the wing benefiting from the donations.

 * Waqf al-Umma: Plays the role of the financial and investment arm in Turkey.

 * The Association of Muslim Scholars: Provides the "Sharia cover" and the necessary endorsements to attract donor funds.

This relationship reached a dead end following accusations of embezzling approximately $500 million and refusing to hand it over to the movement. This prompted Hamas to officially disavow these entities after discovering large-scale thefts. The roots of this organized corruption trace back to 2013, when "Waqf al-Umma" was established in Istanbul as an endowment entity to serve Jerusalem projects, only to transform over time into an empire of looting. Managed by Ahmed al-Omari, the institution exploited its presence in Turkey—away from strict financial oversight—to build a complex network of personal bank accounts and real estate investments.

Donation Mercenaries and Blood Traders

This system relied on the "old endorsement mechanism" to exploit past religious figures to convince donors of its reliability, while the funds were circulated in investment projects whose profits benefited the leaders of the International Organization. This led Hamas to describe them as "donation mercenaries and blood traders," a description confirming that the dispute was never about principles, but about the size of the loot, which ballooned to half a billion dollars in a single campaign following the events of October 2023.

The list of figures involved in these files includes prominent names forming the core of a "gang of thieves" profiting under the guise of sanctity, most notably:

 * Ahmed al-Omari: The mastermind of the network.

 * Saeed Abu al-Abd Yazid al-Nofal: Accused of seizing the movement's financial institutions.

 * Fuad al-Zubaidi and Samir Saeed: Field leaders who transferred huge sums to private accounts and fled to European countries.

The Mechanism of the "Great Theft"

Reports indicate that "scholarly" cover was provided by figures such as Ali al-Qaradaghi, Mohammad Ould el-Dedew, and Ali al-Sallabi for the November 2025 campaigns, despite their knowledge of Hamas's warning statements. This suggests the complicity of the leadership of the International Union of Muslim Scholars in the looting operations.

The mechanism of theft relied on exploiting tragic scenes of destruction to stimulate donations, only for the amounts to be distributed later through suspicious paths. These include administrative deductions of up to 50%, which go as astronomical salaries to leaders in Istanbul. It was also revealed that these funds were used to purchase luxury real estate in the names of the wives and children of leaders in Turkey and Jordan, and massive sums were even transferred to finance the election campaigns of the Islamic Action Front party in Jordan in July 2025.

In contrast to official channels like the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization, which achieves delivery rates exceeding 90%, campaigns like "Wafa for Gaza" delivered less than 5% to actual beneficiaries.

The "Samson Option" and the Collapse of the Business

The fallout between Hamas and the International Organization reflects the rule of "a thief robbed a thief." The dispute did not arise from a spiritual awakening, but because the thieves in Turkey stopped paying the agreed-upon "royalties" to the field wing in Gaza. Hamas leaders, living in the hotels of Doha and Istanbul, felt that someone was competing with them in trading Palestinian blood.

When Ahmed al-Omari and his team refused to cooperate with Hamas investigation committees and threatened to reveal sensitive details about money smuggling routes in Europe, the movement resorted to the "Samson Option" (bringing the temple down on everyone) and exposed the institutions publicly to block the flow of money to them.

By 2026, data indicates the collapse of the "donation business" and the dismantling of profiteering networks thanks to increased public awareness and international security rigor. In Turkey, the Ministry of Treasury began implementing a strict tax audit policy in October 2025 using the AI-powered "KURGAN" system, allowing for the tracking of "Waqf al-Umma" transfers and exposing the contradiction between declared income and massive real estate assets.

The era of open looting under the cover of sanctity has begun to recede. The inevitable result is the international prosecution of these mercenaries on charges of money laundering and embezzlement of aid, proving that "religious sanctity" was nothing but a false mask for achieving obscene wealth at the expense of the blood and suffering of the people.

.

.