Fatwa

A fatwa ({{lang-ar|فتوى}}) plural fatāwa (فتاوى), is a legal pronouncement in Islam, issued by a religious law specialist on a specific issue. Usually a fatwa is issued at the request of an individual or a judge to settle a question where ’’fiqh,’’ Islamic jurisprudence, is unclear. A scholar capable of issuing fatwas is known as a Mufti.

Related Topics:
Islam - Fiqh - Jurisprudence - Mufti

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Contrary to what is believed by many non-Muslims, and even by the majority of Muslims, a fatwa is not binding on all persons professing the Muslim faith. The only ones who are obliged to obey any specific fatwa are the mufti who issued it and his followers.

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The Sheikh of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Muhammad Sayid Tantawy, who is the leading religious authority in the Sunni Muslim establishment in Egypt, said the following about Fatwas issued by himself or the entire Al-Azhar University:

Related Topics:
Al-Azhar University - Cairo - Muhammad Sayid Tantawy - Egypt

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"Fatwas issued by Al-Azhar are not binding; individuals are free to accept them or not. It is the right of Muslims in France who object to the bill (banning the veil) to bring it up to the legislative and judicial authorities. If the judiciary decides in favor of the government because the country is secular, they would be considered to be Muslim individuals acting under compelling circumstances."

Related Topics:
Al-Azhar - France - Veil

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http://middleeastinfo.org/article4171.html

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Because Islam has no centralized priestly hierarchy, there is no uniform method to determine who can issue a valid fatwa and who cannot. Some Islamic scholars complain that too many people feel qualified to issue fatwas.

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Different Islamic clerics can issue contradictory fatwas. The effect depends upon whether or not this takes place in a nation where Islamic law (sharia) is the basis of civil law.

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In nations where Islamic law is the basis of civil law, fatwas by the national religious leadership are debated prior to being issued. Thus, they are rarely contradictory. If two fatwas were contradictory, the ruling bodies (combined civil and religious law) attempt to define a compromise interpretation that will eliminate the resulting ambiguity.

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In nations where Islamic law is not the basis of law, Muslims often must face two contradictory fatwas. In such cases, the fatwa deriving from leadership of their religious tradition would be honored. For example, Sunni Muslims would favor a Sunni fatwa over a Shiite one.

Related Topics:
Sunni - Shiite

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The overwhelming majority of fatwas are on mundane matters (for examples see the archives linked below). Those declaring war or pronouncing death sentences are not at all representative, despite the attention they draw in media, but have become widely renowned.

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One of the best known of these is the 1998 Fatwa proclaimed by Osama bin Ladin in Afghanistan, jointly with Ayman al-Zawahiri, (neither one is considered a scholar qualllified to issue Fatwas, merely Jihad) The 1998 Fatwa claims three motivations for the holy war.

Related Topics:
The best known of these - Osama bin Ladin - Afghanistan - Ayman al-Zawahiri - Jihad

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Claim 1: U.S. occupation of the Arabian Peninsula.

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Claim 2: U.S. aggression against the Iraqi people.

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Claim 3: U.S. support of Israel.

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The title of the 1998 Fatwa: World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders, it declares, "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 the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque in 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: Osama bin Laden Fatwa.

Related Topics:
World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders - Al-Aqsa Mosque - Holy mosque

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