- List of well-known fatwas
A
fatwa ( _ar. فتوى), is a legal pronouncement inIslam , issued by a religious law specialist on a specific issue. See the articlefatwa for more information on what a fatwa is.Fatwa regarding theology
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al-Azhar Shia Fatwa on July 6, 1959::"TheJafari fiqh of theShi'a is a school of thought that is religiously correct to follow in worship as are otherSunni schools of thought."Fatwa Against Production, Stockpiling and use of Nuclear Weapons
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued afatwa forbidding the production, stockpiling and use ofnuclear weapon s onAugust 9 ,2005 . The full text of thefatwa was released in an official statement at the meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. [cite web| url=http://www.ww4report.com/node/929|title=Iran issues anti-nuke fatwa|work=World War 4 Report|accessdate=2006-06-24]Fatwa Against Terrorist Acts in Spain
Spanish Muslims proclaimed a fatwa against
Osama Bin Laden in March 2005 [cite web|url=http://www.culturekitchen.com/archives/002868.html|title=Text of the Fatwa Declared Against Osama Bin Laden by the Islamic Commission of Spain|accessdate=2006-06-24] . They said that he had abandoned his religion and they urged other Muslims to make similar proclamations. They were followed in July 2005 by theFiqh Council of North America , a ruling council that issued a fatwa against providing support to terrorist groups (seeIstihlal ).Fatwas promoting violence against a particular individual
Fatwas involving violence are more likely to be well-known than other fatwas, especially to non-Muslims. One possible reason is that non-Muslims regard most fatwas as not affecting them, but fatwas involving violence can potentially affect them.
Jerry Falwell
In an interview given on September 30, 2002, for the October 6 edition of
60 Minutes , American ChristianJerry Falwell said: "I thinkMuhammad was a terrorist. I read enough by both Muslims and non-Muslims, [to decide] that he was a violent man, a man of war."The following Friday,
Mohsen Mojtahed Shabestari , the spokesman ofIran 's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a fatwa for Falwell's death, saying that Falwell was a "mercenary and must be killed," and, "The death of that man is a religious duty, but his case should not be tied to the Christian community."alman Rushdie
One of the first well-known fatwas was proclaimed in 1989 by the
Iran ianAyatollah Ruhollah Khomeini , againstSalman Rushdie ‘s novel "The Satanic Verses". The argument related to an ostensibly blasphemous statement from an early biography of ProphetMuhammad , regarding incorporating pagangoddess es into Islam’s strongly monotheistic structure. Khomeini died shortly after issuing the fatwa. In 1998 Iran stated that it is no longer pursuing Rushdie’s death; however the decree was again reversed in early 2005 by the presenttheocrat ,Ayatollah Ali Khamenei .In 1991, Rushdie's Japanese translator, Hitoshi Igarashi, was stabbed and killed in
Tokyo , and his Italian translator was beaten and stabbed in Milan. In 1993, Rushdie's Norwegian publisherWilliam Nygaard was shot and severely injured in an attack outside his house inOslo . Thirty-seven guests died when their hotel inSivas, Turkey was burnt down by locals protesting againstAziz Nesin , Rushdie's Turkish translator.More information related to reactions to "The Satanic Verses" can be seen at .
Taslima Nasreen
Fundamentalists in
Bangladesh proclaimed a similar fatwa againstTaslima Nasreen in 1993, against a series of newspaper columns in which she was critical of the treatment of women under Islam. The next year she wrote "Lajja " (Shame) which described the abuse of women and minorities. Again there were calls for her death, and her passport was confiscated. Within the legal system, she felt that she might have faced a jail term of up to two years, where she was likely to be murdered. She managed to escape the country viaCalcutta , was grantedasylum inSweden , and then lived inParis , and finally came to India. Even in India, she had to flee the city ofCalcutta and move to Delhi under Indian government's strict orders following riots in Calcutta.Isioma Daniel
Mamuda Aliyu Shinkafi, the deputy governor of Zamfara state in
Nigeria , issued a fatwa in November 2002 calling for the death of journalistIsioma Daniel for comments suggesting thatMuhammad may have chosen a wife from one of theMiss World contest [cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,848553,00.html|title= Fatwa is issued on Nigerian journalist|work=The Guardian |accessdate=2006-06-24] . Other Muslim authorities have questioned the validity of the fatwa [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2519595.stm|title=Controversy over Nigerian fatwa|work=BBC news |accessdate=2006-06-24] .Fatwas for broader violence
Osama bin Laden inAfghanistan , jointly withAyman al-Zawahiri , proclaimed a fatwa in 1998 in the name of the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders, declaring, "The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies – civilians and military – is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate theal-Aqsa Mosque [inJerusalem ] and the holy mosque [inMecca ] from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty God, 'and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together,' and 'fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God.'" For more information, see:Fatāwā of Osama bin Laden .Comedy Stunts
John Safran , a comedian, got a Fatwa placed onRove McManus during a comedy stunt for his hit Australian TV show,John Safran Vs God References
External links
* [http://www.why-war.com/commentary/2003/12/what_fatwa_islam.html The Fatwa and Revolutionary Islamic Movements]
* [http://www.islamonline.net/livefatwa/english/select.asp Live Fatwa & archive]
* [http://www.islamtoday.com/fatwa_archive_main.cfm Fatwa archive]
* [http://www.ict.org.il/articles/fatwah.htm Osama bin Ladin’s Fatwa urging jihad against Americans]
* [http://www.ask-imam.com/ Ask the Imam] Fatwas by Mufti Ebrahim Desai (The Fatwa Department)
* [http://www.islam-qa.com/ Salafi fatwas]
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