: a legal opinion or decree handed down by an Islamic religious leader
Examples of fatwa in a Sentence
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But one major obstacle stands in the way of a nuclear-armed Iran: in 2003, the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, publicly issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, that prohibits the possession and accumulation of nuclear weapons.
—
Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Foreign Affairs, 12 July 2019
In a separate indictment, federal authorities allege that Matar was driven to act by a terrorist organization’s 2006 endorsement of the fatwa.
—Hillel Italie, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2025
Back in 2014, the Islamic State (or ISIS) wrested vast swaths of Iraqi territory from the Baghdad government, and Sistani issued a fatwa calling on all able men to take up arms and join the fight under the state’s security institutions.
—Hamdi Malik, Foreign Affairs, 25 May 2020
Rushdie has faced decades of death threats for his controversial writing, with the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini calling for the author’s death in a fatwa following the publication of his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.
—Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 11 Feb. 2025
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Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Foreign Affairs, 12 July 2019
In a separate indictment, federal authorities allege that Matar was driven to act by a terrorist organization’s 2006 endorsement of the fatwa.
—Hillel Italie, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2025
Back in 2014, the Islamic State (or ISIS) wrested vast swaths of Iraqi territory from the Baghdad government, and Sistani issued a fatwa calling on all able men to take up arms and join the fight under the state’s security institutions.
—Hamdi Malik, Foreign Affairs, 25 May 2020
Rushdie has faced decades of death threats for his controversial writing, with the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini calling for the author’s death in a fatwa following the publication of his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.
—Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fatwa
Cite this Entry
“Fatwa.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fatwa. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
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