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                | 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 AzizOur 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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