SINCE 1828
fatwa
noun
fat·wa
| \ ˈfət-wə
, ˈfät-wä\
, ˈfät-wä\
Definition of fatwa
: a legal opinion or decree handed down by an Islamic religious leader
Examples of fatwa in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In response to the strength of the Islamists, Jokowi was forced by his coalition of parties to select as his running mate an ultra-conservative Muslim cleric, Ma’ruf Amin, whose fatwa against Ahok had incited the demonstrations. — Margaret Scott, The New York Review of Books, "Indonesia’s New Islamist Politics," 18 Apr. 2019 Khalil lives freely on the outskirts of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, currently promoting a fatwa, or religious edict, banning militant violence in Pakistan. — Kathy Gannon, The Seattle Times, "Death of Afghan group’s founder unlikely to weaken militants," 4 Sep. 2018 Shortly before the attack struck, the clerics had issued a fatwa against suicide bombings and urged peace talks to end the Afghan war. — Rahim Faiez And Amir Shah, Fox News, "Suicide bombing targets gathering of clerics in Afghanistan, killing 7," 4 June 2018 After consulting with doctors, Khomeini sanctioned gender-transition surgery in a groundbreaking fatwa. — Washington Post, "Iran’s transgender people face discrimination despite fatwa," 21 May 2018 The fatwa also said that killing people by any means, including with bombs and suicide attacks, are sins in Islam. — Washington Post, "Taliban calls Islamic Scholars conferences a US process," 26 June 2018 The fatwa also said that killing people by any means — such as bombs and suicide attacks — as well as violent acts, including robbery and kidnapping, count as sins in Islam. — Rahim Faiez And Amir Shah, Fox News, "Suicide bombing targets gathering of clerics in Afghanistan, killing 7," 4 June 2018 Seventy prominent Muslim scholars from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Indonesia issued the fatwa, or edict, at a conference in Indonesia on ways to achieve peace and stability in Afghanistan. — Fox News, "Muslim scholars: Suicide attacks violate Islamic principles," 11 May 2018 The Afghan Ulema Council, which includes Muslim clerics, scholars and men of authority in religion and law from across the country, issued the fatwa at a gathering on Monday in Kabul that hosted around 2,000 council members. — Fox News, "Afghanistan's top religious council bans suicide attacks," 4 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fatwa.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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