Fatwa Center Spokesman Ibrahim Negm announced the decree on Friday, saying the ISIL’s terrorist activities in Syria and Iraq “serve the enemies of Islam.”

The Sunni cleric also condemned the extremist group for committing crimes in Muslim nations in the name of religion. Negm said the ISIL has adopted the wrong interpretation of Islam.

Fatwa Center is Egypt’s official Islamic body that issues religious edicts.

ISIL, an al-Qaeda offshoot group that has been wreaking havoc in Syria, recently captured a number of cities in northern and north-central Iraq.

On Friday, top Iraqi cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a religious decree calling on people to take up arms and defend their country against the Takfiri militants.

Iraqi men from all walks of life are flocking to recruitment centers to join the army in its fight against the ISIL extremists.

NJF/NJF