What is a fatwa?

[Prawned]

Hello and I am very new here and askign questions about Islam.

I have read about this fatwa or fatwah or whatever it's called and I am curious, why was there no fatwas issued and carried out again those who want to attack the world trade center or those who want to bomb trains in London?

I saw that guy Al Jazero again on CNN and he was doing some report from a rally in middle earth and there was someone yelling about Denmark (because of those cartoons I guess) but this guy was saying that Europe will have it's 9/11 and I wondered what he meant by that? If Islam is a religion of peace what is that guy thinking?

And why does a religion of peace even have a so-called fatwa?

And if they're going to have a fatwa, shouldn't they use it on the guy yelling about "Europe will have it's 9/11" ? Wouldn't that be a person to use a fatwa on?

Anyway, I've seen some people here making claims that the media is somehow against Islam and is running propaganda and I've really got to say, and I'm trying not to be rude ehre, but that is absolutely the dumbest thing I have ever heard. The media says Michael Jackson is a child molester and that catholic priests molest boys but you don't see the ayone bombing things in the name of the Catholic church and you see Michael Jackson dressing up like a woman. Now I know that newspapers print a lot of lies, like that picture of Muhammed with a bomb for a turban, I'm sure that was a lie and probably no one bombs in the name of Islam. Most terrorists are probably Mormons anyway. What I think happened is, a lot of terrorists were Mormons and they just dressed up like they were Muslim, i.e. they put on turbans and such, then did their bombings or airplane hijacks so people thought they were Muslim when in fact they were not. This would explain why the media and the newspapers print that Muslim terrorists do things. Because usually the newspaper is wrong and they print lies.

 

[akulion]

First of all a "fatwa" is an Islamic ruling on a matter decided by someone called a Mufti.

Mufti are people who preside over courts and decide cases. Like a judge.

That being said - you must also be aware that a lot of groups have popped up in the Islamic world with self imposed 'leaders' who keep passing fatwas without having any authority to do so.

As for the guy saying "Europe will have its 9/11" yes I saw that and I also said "what is that guy thinking?" He was obiviously enraged and not thinking straight. Actions of individuals do not reprent Islam. If you wish to learn about Islam read the Quran.

As for the media being biased. I would like to ask you one question.

When a Muslim man commits murder or any crime, why is he identified on the news as "A Muslim" or even as a "Muslim fundamentalist"?

While on the other hand Christians, Jews, Hindus can kill rape plunder and destroy and yet NEVER be referred to by religion.

you want examples?

there is that guy of the Okalamaha bombings (cant remember his name but I think it ws Timothy something)

The serb leader - identified by nationality NOT religion (he is christian) who massacred Muslims by the 100000 in Europe as apart of his "ethnic cleansing" Malasocivich I think his name was

The IRA - not recognized by religion but but nationality

Isreal killing countless of Palestinians, they leveled a whole city yet they were called "Isrealis" not by religion! And the world stood by turning a blind eye to their heartless assult on an entire city of Muslims!!

And there are countless affairs like this - schol shootings in usa etc etc where none of those individual are called by religion.

How come you never hear headlines like "Christian Fundamentalist Terrorist man kills 10 boys in school in a shooting incident?"

Something to think about indeed.

Please do more research insha'Allah

 

[*Hana*]

Peace Prawned:

Actually, you are mistaken, many have died in the name of Christianity, but as akulion pointed out, they are not labeled by religion. ONLY Muslims are named by religion.

David Koresh, to name one, caused the death of many in the name of Christianity; Rev. Jim Jones killed followers in the name of Christianity; Timothy McVeigh, a proud Christian, killed many...including children in the Oklahoma Bombing and in the USA there are White Supremists, Christians, and probably the most well-known, the KKK who are very proud to be Christian, believe wholeheartedly they are following scripture when they commit the crimes they do. The war in Northern Ireland....both sides Christians, killing each other. And yet, none of these people/groups are called Christian terrorists. One Muslim commits a crime, and all of Islam is blamed.

As a Muslim I am not responsible for those who choose to commit crimes in the name of God or Islam, as I am not responsible for Christians who do the same. I follow the religion, not its followers. Do I condone anyone, Muslim or otherwise, blowing up buses of innocent people, or buildings or kidnapping, no, I don't. But, I won't apologize for it either....I didn't do it, and neither did 99% of the 2.1 billion Muslims in the world.

So, as Akulion suggested, if you want to learn the truth about Islam, start with the Qur'an and ask questions from there to get clarification. Of course, you are free to post questions and for sure you will have many responses and people willing to help you.

I hope you understand what I was trying to say here and if I came off as rude, I apologize, it was certainly not my intention.

Peace,
Hana

 

[Prawned]

First of all a "fatwa" is an Islamic ruling on a matter decided by someone called a Mufti.

Mufti are people who preside over courts and decide cases. Like a judge.

Yes but some fatwa are death sentences. I'm wondering why a religion of peace would even bother to have such a thing as part of it's doctrine?

That being said - you must also be aware that a lot of groups have popped up in the Islamic world with self imposed 'leaders' who keep passing fatwas without having any authority to do so.

It seems a very broken system if you can pass a fatwa without having the authority to do so. I mean, you'd think it wouldn't even be a fatwa then? Can I become Muslim and start passing my own fatwas left and right without the authority to do so? If your answer is "no" I will then ask, why can others?

As for the guy saying "Europe will have its 9/11" yes I saw that and I also said "what is that guy thinking?" He was obiviously enraged and not thinking straight. Actions of individuals do not reprent Islam. If you wish to learn about Islam read the Quran.

As for the media being biased. I would like to ask you one question.

When a Muslim man commits murder or any crime, why is he identified on the news as "A Muslim" or even as a "Muslim fundamentalist"?

While on the other hand Christians, Jews, Hindus can kill rape plunder and destroy and yet NEVER be referred to by religion.

Nope, I've never seen the term "Christian fundamentalist" in the media. Most abortion clinic bombings are attributed to Major League Baseball.

 

[akulion]

Oh oki I understand your position now actually.

I think what you need to understand is that:

1. there is no Islamc state in the world right now

What you see are fragmented nations with majority Muslim populations being ruled by leaders who are basically opressing the people. Like Kings and etc, there is no Monarchy in Islam at all.

The fatwas you seem to have taken as a negative word. It is not a negative word at all. A fatwa is a "ruling". So every system has a ruling system. In western courts they are called "verdicts" i believe.

As for the fatwas bein passed left and right - you have to understand that since there is no central government for the Muslims (as there should be) indeed you see all this craziness happening.

In Islam we are supposed to have only 1 nation where Muslims from all over the world chinese, pakistanis, saudis, etc etc are all the same and live together under the banner of Islam. Non Muslims are also welcome to live there as long as they obey the law and pay the taxes just like any Muslim would.

Unfortunately the Muslims are in their dark ages. Our Khilifat (the name given to an Islamic state) was destroyed in the 1800's after successfully existing for over 1000 years.

since then things have gone downhill for the Muslims. We are fragmented and the leaders we have today are all tyranically mostly.

but still the Muslims worldwide are trying to unite and put up resistance to once again form an Islamic state (Khilifat) - only time will tell the outcome Insha'allah it will exist once again someday.

---

So you admit that you never see christians or jews being named in the news and attributed to murder rape or other things...then ask yourself WHY only Muslims. And you will understand why we believe the media is biased towards Muslims.

 

[Prawned]

Peace Prawned:

Actually, you are mistaken, many have died in the name of Christianity, but as akulion pointed out, they are not labeled by religion. ONLY Muslims are named by religion.

What? Look we're not talking about Michael Jackson or Christianity here. I'm asking why a religion of peace needs to have death fatwas.

If I wanted to ask about the Crusades and why they were wrong I'd go on some Christian forum and do that. But most Christians will probably agree with me and not argue that the Crusades were wrong. They will not defend them. So let's get back to these death fatwas. Why does a religion of peace need such a thing?

 

[*Hana*]

What? Look we're not talking about Michael Jackson or Christianity here. I'm asking why a religion of peace needs to have death fatwas.

If I wanted to ask about the Crusades and why they were wrong I'd go on some Christian forum and do that. But most Christians will probably agree with me and not argue that the Crusades were wrong. They will not defend them. So let's get back to these death fatwas. Why does a religion of peace need such a thing?

I don't recall mentioning Michael Jackson or the Crusades.

Anyway, I've seen some people here making claims that the media is somehow against Islam and is running propaganda and I've really got to say, and I'm trying not to be rude ehre, but that is absolutely the dumbest thing I have ever heard. The media says Michael Jackson is a child molester and that catholic priests molest boys but you don't see the ayone bombing things in the name of the Catholic church and you see Michael Jackson dressing up like a woman. Now I know that newspapers print a lot of lies, like that picture of Muhammed with a bomb for a turban, I'm sure that was a lie and probably no one bombs in the name of Islam. Most terrorists are probably Mormons anyway. What I think happened is, a lot of terrorists were Mormons and they just dressed up like they were Muslim, i.e. they put on turbans and such, then did their bombings or airplane hijacks so people thought they were Muslim when in fact they were not. This would explain why the media and the newspapers print that Muslim terrorists do things. Because usually the newspaper is wrong and they print lies.

My response was to this part of your post as I think akulion has already answered your question on fatwas.

Hana

 

[Prawned]

What you see are fragmented nations with majority Muslim populations being ruled by leaders who are basically opressing the people.

Hmmm. Coincidence? Either way, that's something you should go back and read. Then read again. Then think about before letting your religious leaders tell nations how they should discipline their citizens who operate their own printing presses.

This "biased media" everyone keeps talking about constantly points out ***Cathloic*** priests who are child molestors like Michael Jackson (SO DO NOT TELL ME THERE IS SOME MEDIA CONSPIRACY AGAINST ISLAM!!!!!) and I don't see any Bishops leading riots burning embassies. What's up with that?

 

[akulion]

First of all - Take a chill pill....

Incase you dont have one, I always keep one handy...here you go:

now to the issue at hand.....

Muslims became fragmented in the first place because they grew too powerful and as a result the leaders grew stagnant and so did the people. I dont know how much of Islamic history you know but basically the Islamic Empire was the light of the world and the teachings and idealogies of it gave birth to things such as modern science and even the renniance movement borrowed from it
You can always read more here if you wish.

As far as "disclipining" - the Muslim people are merely expressing their freedom to choose by boycotting.
No official 'death' fatwas where issued against anyone. the only ones calling for such fatwas are "quacks" basically who no one listens to anyways.

As far as the Christian Churches and the preachers go - this is the only issue which has been aired and died down in a matter of months, while attacks against Muslims in the media continue all the time.

As far as burning embassies that was not done by any imams either - it was done by ruly mobs who got out of control. These type of things often happend in countries - need I remind you of the downtown NY riots quite a few years back. (or was it LA i dont remember which)

Conspiracy is a word which only you have mentioned so far. No one says there is a conspiracy - we merely ask why is the media so biased?

Even if a Muslim man farts in NY its aired as a chemical attack by Muslim extremists fundamentalists terrorists.

The fact remains that media portrays even common criminals in a Muslim country as a "terrorist radical islamist" or something along the lines.

THAT is what we are talking about that the media is very biased against muslims.

 

[*Hana*]

Hmmm. Coincidence? Either way, that's something you should go back and read. Then read again. Then think about before letting your religious leaders tell nations how they should discipline their citizens who operate their own printing presses.

There's a little something called R E S P E C T!! You think they would print a picture of the Christian Jesus at Christmas time wearing a birthday party hat, blowing a noise maker, with a bottle of wine walking with a stagger headed towards the local strip bar called "Magdelein's"

The fact is, Christians display pictures of their perception all over their homes, that's fine, but in Islam it's blasphemous to display pictures of the Prophets. There is a line between freedom of speech and spreading hate. What they did was spread hate, and in most civilized countries, that is illegal. Funny thing is...in Islam, we are taught not to disrespect other faiths and you wouldn't see such things in an Islamically produced paper.

As far as someone screaming bomb this, bomb that or people choosing to do it....it has nothing to do with Islam. PERIOD!

This "biased media" everyone keeps talking about constantly points out ***Cathloic*** priests who are child molestors like Michael Jackson (SO DO NOT TELL ME THERE IS SOME MEDIA CONSPIRACY AGAINST ISLAM!!!!!) and I don't see any Bishops leading riots burning embassies. What's up with that?

Therein lies the difference. Each were accused based on their own actions, all of Christianity wasn't blamed for their crimes. The FACT is there are Catholic Priests, Christian Ministers, Pastors, etc., charged with crimes, but the whole faith isn't held accountable. ONE Muslims commits a crime, and all Muslims are guilty. You already admitted you never hear the term Christian terrorist when we KNOW there are many. Why is that? Why is it when Christian groups bomb and kill people inside abortion clinics they are not called Christian Terrorists??

Is the media biased.......darn right they are!! And it's painfully obvious.

Hana

 

[Prawned]

You already admitted you never hear the term Christian terrorist when we KNOW there are many. Why is that?

Go back and read, then read two times and think again twice and many times then think three more times. I was being sarcastic. The term "Christian fundamentalist" comes up a lot in the media when talking about abortion clinic bombings. These bombings are not really blamed on Major League Baseball.

 

[*Hana*]

Go back and read, then read two times and think again twice and many times then think three more times. I was being sarcastic. The term "Christian fundamentalist" comes up a lot in the media when talking about abortion clinic bombings. These bombings are not really blamed on Major League Baseball.

I know you were being sarcastic and, living in the west my entire life, I have NEVER heard that term. What I hear is "a local christian group...." "A group from the such and such christian community...."

They are committing a TERRORIST act. PERIOD!!! Where is the correct terminology?....it is NOT limited to Muslims. Yet, you want to maintain the media isn't biased? Gimme a break!

And, uh, usually it's people that lack knowledge that speak the way you are speaking to me, so just some advice to change tactics so people don't get the wrong impression. You might want to take akulions advice and swallow that chill pill. Go back over just the past 5 years and see how often you find the term Christian Terrorists. Your own backyard is full of them, but you won't find that terminology, THAT, was my point! See how easy it was to make a point without anger and sarcasm.

Hana

 

[Malaikah]

whats a death fatwa?? i only know of general fatwas, didnt know there was such a thing as a death fatwa. what on earth is a death fatwa??

 

[Prawned]

whats a death fatwa?? i only know of general fatwas, didnt know there was such a thing as a death fatwa. what on earth is a death fatwa??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatwa

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,

 

[Prawned]

And just in case you pick up on the wrong points there, the point is, they exist. Even if they are the minority of fatwas, the point is, why do death fatwas exist at all?

 

[Malaikah]

i dont get your point mate, why shouldnt they exist?? if the decision has to be made that some one is to be punished by the death sentence, then whats wrong with that?
sorry but youve confused me

 

[Duhaa]

Hey Prawned Letmesplainyou (as a well known comedian said)
Have you heard of the death penalty?
They used to have it in Britain and still have in some parts of America.
So the death penalty means that someone is killed usually because they killed someone or lots of people, right?
So the difference (yes there is a difference) between a so called 'death fatwa' and the death penalty is one is used inconsistently and one isnt.
I'm sure you've heard in the news where sometimes at the last minute someone can get a reprieval (I think thats how you spell it - meaning let off).
In Islaam this doesnt happen, we have fixed punishments for different crimes and think about it over here (I mean in the west), someone can kill and be let out of prison after a few years and then theres outrage when he/she kills someone else after they've been let out.
In Islaam, if you kill someone, the family of the victim decides whether they want you killed or want to forgive you, though usually you'll be killed and then you cant kill someone else can you?
(Btw by saying 'you', I dont mean you personally, anybody really)

 

[Ansar Al-'Adl]

And just in case you pick up on the wrong points there, the point is, they exist. Even if they are the minority of fatwas, the point is, why do death fatwas exist at all?

A fatwa is simply a ruling someone gives. 'Death' fatwas as you call them exist because people say such things; it has nothing to do with what Islam says, it's what people say. Non-muslims nead to realize that fatwa does not necessarily represent Islam. Ideally, in an Islamic state, only qualified Muftis would give fatwas and we wouldn't have the problem of crazy rulings floating around.

Regards

 

[Prawned]

Okay I have to say I'm pretty unimpressed with the responses I am getting to my questions. It makes me sad.

If I want to criticize American policies, a lot of which I disagree with, I would go on to board which lets you ask questions aout American policies and I would criticize them there. You people keep ringing them up as a defense. It's ridiculous. I point out some policy, say policy A and you say "well the US takes this position on policy A so therefore it's okay for islam to do it." I really wished you would stop doing that. Just because the US takes soem position on policy A doesn't mean it's alright, and it doesn't mean Islam can also take that same position. I am seriously very unimpressed with what people here are offering. (Though make no mistake, I completely agree with your right to post whatever you want. If you want to post cartoons of Jews eating babies, please do so. If you want to claim that Islam does not allow images of the prophet even though there are islamic works of art which display him, go ahead and do that. )

But seriously, I am not impressed. In fact, I'm a little scared. But please enjoy your religion of peace. I hope it makes you very happy.

 

[Malaikah]

If you want to claim that Islam does not allow images of the prophet even though there are islamic works of art which display him, go ahead and do that.

Excuse me? Just becuase it exists does not mean that it is allowed!!! DRAWING PICTURES OF THE PROPHET PBUH IS HARAM. It does not matter who draws it. It is haram (haram= prohibited). Whoever drew them will be punished, unless they have repented to God and their repentance was accpeted.

Just becuase a muslim drew the prophet, does not mean that is it acceptable in Islam. You need to understand these things.

If you want us to answer your question, please define your terms more clearly. I dont see what is so contriversal about a fatwa.

A fatwa is given when a decision needs to be made.

For example, you are aware that drawing images of people and animals is haram, i assume? Well it is. However, during the time of the prophet phub cameras did not exist and so there is no reference in the quran or sunnah about whether photographs of living creatures is allowed. this is an important issue since photography can be likened to drawing. In such a case, the a fatwa will be produced by a Mufti as to whether photography is allowed.

If you are still not satisfied with the responses, please define your questions AND terms (including death fatwa) more clearly.

Peace.