What is a
“Fatwa”
Let us quote from the online encyclopedia Wikipedia:
A “fatwa’’ (Arabic: فتوى)
plural ‘fataawa’, 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. |
Until the Islam Comic
Book has been translated into other languages, this AltaVista
Babel Fish link will have to do!
|
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.
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.
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.
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.
The overwhelming majority of fatwas are on
mundane matters (for examples see the archives linked below).
Those declaring war or pronouncing death sentences are indeed
representative of many issued fatwas, and the fact that they draw
attention in English-language media is probably a good thing. Such
fatwas have caught the attention of the western media and become
widely renowned, especially among critics of Islam.
The best known of these was proclaimed in 1989 by
the Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini,
against Salman Rushdie‘s
novel ’’The Satanic Verses’’.
The argument related to an ostensibly blasphemous statement from
an early biography of Prophet Muhammad, regarding incorporating pagan
goddesses into
Islam’s strongly monotheist 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 present theocrat, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. See
’’Salman Rushdie’’ for
details.
Fundamentalists in Bangladesh proclaimed a similar fatwa
against Taslima Nasreen
(which see for details) in 1993, against a series of newspaper
columns in which she was critical of the treatment of women under
Islam.
Osama bin Ladin in Afghanistan, jointly
with Ayman 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 the al-Aqsa Mosque (in
Jerusalem) and the holy mosque (in
Mecca) 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.
(http://www.ict.org.il/articles/fatwah.htm)
Spanish Muslims proclaimed a fatwa against Bin
Laden in March of 2005 [1] (http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/03/11/madrid.anniversary/).
They said that he had abandoned his religion and they urged other
Muslims to make similar proclamations.
Well, if a Mufti in Spain can issue a fatwa against
Osama Bin Laden, then our own Dr. Abdullah Aziz, with two earned
doctorates in Islamic studies, can certainly issue a fatwa against
all Muslims who reject the inspired teachings of Mohammed as
recorded in the Qur'an and the Hadiths and as illustrated in the Islam Comic Book and as
summarized here.
The Fatwa of Abdullah Aziz
Our fatwa is loosely based on the text of Osama Bin-Laden's own fatwa against the United
States and thus the reader can be assured that it follows
the proper form of Islamic jurisprudence.
Text of Fatwah Urging Conversion of Unbelieving
Muslims
Published in Mecca in the Islam Comic Book on May 11, 2005
Statement signed by Abdullah Aziz, publisher of the Islam
Comic Book in Mecca, Egypt, Persia, Palestine, and throughout the
world.
A curse on Allah, who is alleged to have “revealed” the Qur’an, is alleged to control the clouds, is
alleged to defeat truth, and is alleged to say in the Qur’an “But
when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans
wherever ye find them, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait
for them in every stratagem (of war)”; and a curse be upon the “Prophet” Muhammad Bin-’Abdallah, who said “I have been sent with the sword between
my hands to ensure that no one but Allah is worshipped, Allah who
put my livelihood under the shadow of my spear and who inflicts
humiliation and scorn on those who disobey my orders.”
In the light of the grave situation and the lack of
belief in the teachings of the “Prophet”, we and you are obliged to discuss such
events, and we should all agree on how to settle the matter. No true
Muslim argues today about three facts that are known to all Muslims;
we will list them, in order to remind everyone:
-
First, the Qur’an is alleged to be the revealed word
of Allah.
-
Second, Mohammed is alleged to be Allah's
Prophet.
-
Third, if a Muslim refuses to believe the words
of the Prophet as recorded in the Qur’an and in the Hadiths, he or she is to
be treated as “dar-al-Harb”—that is to say, as if he or she is a
part of the world at war against Islam.
Any such individual must make his or her choice:
-
Accept Islam as completely true, accepting
without reservation all of the teachings of Mohammed as set forth
in the Qur’an and Hadiths,
including the revelations as illustrated in
the Islam Comic Book, or
-
Reject Islam and the teachings of Islam as
completely false and face the consequences of such rejection.
On that basis, and in compliance with the orders of
the One True God (and Who is not Allah, and Whose character and
Words have already been declared through the People of the Book, and
Whose Book most Muslims have never bothered to read for the truths
that have already been revealed therein), we issue the following
fatwa to all Muslims and unbelievers everywhere:
 ou
have broken God’s holy Law. You don’t think so? “I’m not so bad,”
you tell yourself.
Really? Ask yourself some
questions. Have you ever lied? Yes, you have. Have you ever stolen
anything? Yes, you have.
Have you ever committed
adultery? Yes, you have, because Jesus (God's Peace Is Upon Him)
says that to even lust after a woman is the same as committing
adultery. My friend, you have broken three out of ten. And by
desiring her in the first place, you are coveting someone’s wife or
daughter. That’s four.
Shall we try for five out
of ten? Jesus says to hate someone is to commit the sin of murder in
your heart. And that’s where sin starts. Let’s check the balance
sheet. You have admitted that you are a lying, thieving, covetous,
murdering, adulterer—and we’ve only looked at five of the ten.
Shall we go for six? By
doing all these things, you have dishonored your father and mother.
My friend, you’ve broken six out of ten. If you will be honest with
yourself, you have broken all the others, too. And these are just a
summary of God’s holy Law.
You’ve got a problem, my
friend. And it’s a serious problem, because the penalty for breaking
God’s Law is severe indeed. But it’s not just your problem. It’s my
problem, too. In fact, it’s everybody’s problem. The penalty is
death, and not just physical death. The penalty is eternal death,
separation from God in a place that you really don’t want to go
to.
But there’s some good
news. In fact, it’s great news. That eternal penalty has already
been paid. God Himself paid it and paved the road for our salvation
through Jesus Christ.
The road to salvation
through Jesus Christ is clearly presented in the New Testament.
These Seven Principles of Salvation are set forth in Paul’s letter
to the Romans.
As it is
written, “Not even one person is righteous. No one understands.
No one searches for God. All have turned away. Together they
have become worthless.” —Romans 3:10-12
This means that no one is righteous before
God and, in fact, no one is even searching for
Him.
… since all
have sinned and continue to fall short of God’s glory.
—Romans 3:23
This means that you have sinned.
You have not earned, and do not deserve, eternal life. There are
two things you need to know to be saved: First, you need to know
that you are a sinner who has violated God’s laws. Second, you
need to know that there is a terrible and eternal price for
sin.
Therefore,
just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through
sin, so death spread to everyone, because all have sinned.
—Romans 5:12
Adam sinned and gave Satan a foothold in
the world. By nature, we are all separated from God. We are all
born in sin. We deserve death and hell.
For the
wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life
in union with Christ Jesus our Lord. —Romans
6:23
You have earned death, not eternal life.
So Jesus, in effect, went to the “Bank of Heaven” and paid your
debt for you. Jesus paid the price for you to obtain salvation and
eternal life. You cannot earn this payment. Eternal life must be
accepted as a gift from God.
But God
demonstrates his love for us by the fact that Christ died for us
while we were still sinners. — Romans 5:8
Due to unconditional love, Christ died in
your place, paying a debt He did not owe. We all have an unpaid
debt of sin that Christ is willing to pay for us. How do we get
our debts paid by Christ? If you accept His payment of your debt
by receiving Him as your Lord and Savior, He will make you His
child and take you to heaven when you die.
For
“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.” — Romans 10:13
The word “everyone” includes you. How do
you “call on the name of the Lord” to be saved?
…if you
declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For
a person believes with his heart and is justified, and a person
declares with his mouth and is saved. — Romans
10:9-10
The
Bible promises us that God forgives our sin when we accept the
work that Christ did for us when He died on Calvary. You can do
this by praying this short, simple prayer:
“Lord, Jesus, I know
that I am a sinner and I need you. I know that you paid the price
for my sins by dying on the cross. I ask that you forgive my sins;
and I receive you as my Savior and Lord. I thank you for forgiving
my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of
my life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.
Amen.”
Look to God’s Word for
encouragement as you begin your new life in Christ. Remember these
simple truths from God’s Word:
If we make it our habit to confess our sins, he is
faithful and righteous to forgive us those sins and cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. —1 John 1:9
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that
we are God’s children. —Romans 8:16
For by such grace you have been saved through
faith. This does not come from you; it is the gift of God and
not the result of works, lest anyone boast. —Ephesians
2:8
For I consider that the sufferings of this present
time are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed
to us. —Romans 8:18
I have written these things to you who believe in
the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have
eternal life. —1 John 5:13
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation. Old things have disappeared, and—look!—all things have
become new! All of this comes from God, who has reconciled us to
himself through Christ… —2 Corinthians 5:17-18a
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