UNDER THE CRESCENT: The faces of Islam The concept of fatwa, basically a scholarly religious opinion, is much misunderstood in the non-Muslim world, writes Mary Fitzgerald
When non-Muslims hear the word fatwa, chances are they think of Salman Rushdie. The author became the subject of a fatwa issued by Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989. Khomeini called for Rushdie's death, claiming he had blasphemed against Islam in his novel The Satanic Verses.
For Muslims, however, a fatwa is simply the considered opinion of Muslim scholars drawing on Islamic legal precedents. A fatwa can relate to everyday matters such as marital relations and business dealings.
It can also involve outlining the grounds for declaring jihad or accusing someone of apostasy as the Islamic Council of Spain did with Osama bin Laden on the first anniversary of the Madrid train bombings.
Traditionally, Muslims considered fatwas issued by scholars and sheikhs at renowned institutions like al-Azhar the most valid.
In Egypt, the government attempted to control fatwas by creating the position of Grand Mufti ("mufti" simply means one who gives fatwas).
However, in recent years modern technology has contributed to the growing trend of unofficial fatwas, much to the concern of traditionalists. At times, they complain, it seems anyone can declare themselves a mufti and start issuing fatwas.
Thousands of fatwas of varying quality are issued every day on TV and radio shows, websites, newspapers and in neighbourhood mosques throughout the Islamic world.
"Dial-a-sheikh" telephone helplines have proved popular for those looking for an instant answer to their religious dilemmas.
Some unofficial fatwas have been criticised for pandering to trivial concerns, others for their dubious origins.
In Egypt alone, recently publicised fatwas have ruled that yoga, the internet and ironing women's trousers are haram (prohibited), the latter because the person who issued it said women are not allowed to wear trousers according to Islam.
Much of the problem stems from the religion's lack of central authority. "Islam does not have a hierarchy with one voice like the Vatican," says Fahmy Howeidy, a Cairo-based commentator on Islamic affairs. "Historically we are used to many voices and many schools of thinking."
This absence of a single unchallenged authority means there is no uniform way to determine who can issue a binding fatwa. Even al-Azhar's Grand Sheikh has acknowledged those who disagree with its rulings are free to consult other scholars.
It is a subject that has taken on greater urgency in recent years with the emergence of radical ideologies like that of al-Qaeda. In 1998 Osama bin Laden and his Egyptian deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri issued a fatwa declaring all Muslims had a duty to kill "Americans and their allies".
The Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar may scoff at bin Laden's credentials for issuing a fatwa, but admits the problem of competing and contradictory fatwas is not easily tackled.
"I cannot prevent anyone from talking," Sheikh Tantawi told The Irish Times. "All I can do is commend and uphold a correct opinion or correct something that is incorrect. I cannot prevent them from saying what they want to say."
Ali al-Halawani, deputy editor-in-chief of IslamOnline.net, one of the most popular websites that run fatwa services, says the cacophony of voices claiming the right to issue fatwas is deeply worrying.
"I don't just think it's a problem, it's a catastrophe," he says. "There is no unity and that is dangerous when it comes to big questions concerning the global Muslim community. In those cases we need an international, unified approach, not the word of a single mufti." Backed by Qatar-based cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Islamonline.net responds to queries with fatwas issued by leading international scholars and clerics.
It is the most popular religious-themed website in the world with at least 3.5 million hits per month.
There have been some attempts to address the fatwa crisis and force a uniformity of sorts. At a conference in Jordan last year, representatives from eight Sunni and Shia Muslim schools of thought agreed that fatwas should only be issued by clerics qualified to do so.
"No one may issue a fatwa without the requisite personal qualifications which each school of jurisprudence defines," the statement read.
"No one may issue a fatwa without adhering to the methodology of the schools . . . and no one may claim to issue unacceptable fatwas that take Muslims out of the principles and certainties of sharia [ Islamic law]."
This unprecedented statement was backed by heavyweight clerics such as al-Azhar's Sheikh Tantawi, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani.