Definition of fatwa
: a legal opinion or decree handed down by an Islamic religious leader
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Recent Examples of fatwa from the Web
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The fatwa fell out of favor with Iran’s rulers in the late 1990s, and Rushdie ended his exile.
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Al-Binali was at the time reportedly head of the ISIS Research and Fatwa Department, which released a fatwa allowing rape of infidel women around the time of the campaign against the Yazidis and their subsequent enslavement.
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The Grand Mufti of Egypt, a leading Sunni authority, issued a fatwa against it in 2007, and Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, a leading Shiite authority, condemned the practice in 2009.
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The group also works in Indonesia to implement the fatwa, or edict, against wildlife trafficking issued in 2014 by the country's top Muslim clerical body in response to concerns over the deterioration of the nation’s ecosystems.
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One fatwa discussed the appropriate color women should wear, concluding that red was illegal.
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The students used to attend his Friday speeches at a local mosque where Mr. Rahmani, who has since been arrested, declared a fatwa on bloggers critical of Islam, calling for them to be killed, Mr. Islam said.
These 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.
Origin and Etymology of fatwa
Arabic fatwā
Other Religion (Eastern and Other) Terms
Zen, antinomian, avatar, gnosticism, illuminati, ineffable, karma, koan, mantra
Learn More about fatwa
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Nglish: Translation of fatwa for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of fatwa for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fatwa
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