The Saudi government has finally cracked down on the willy-nilly issuance of fatawa by anyone with a college degree in Islam and access to the media, Financial Times reports. In banning the issuance of fatawas by any other than officially certified scholars, this step will definitely reduce the number of crazy judgments and statements (like the one telling people that they should breast feed, thus establishing a maternal relationship, in order to get around bans on mixing the sexes!). But there’s a cost involved, too.
If only state-sponsored clerics can issue a fatwa, then it’s not unreasonable to expect that only the fatawas that support the state will be issued. That puts honorable and reasonable fatawas out of bounds if they contradict state policy. Good for having the government run smoothly, but not necessarily good for those who lack close, official ties to government. Certain groups within Saudi Arabia—i.e., Shi’ites—still suffer from government disfavor. Unless Shi’a clerics are brought into the official fold, they are going to be deprived of a legitimate part of their religious practice.
Saudi king seeks to bring order to religious rulings
Heba SalehA Saudi royal order limiting the number of religious rulings – or fatwas – is an attempt to bring order to what has become a chaotic field with the advent of satellite television and the internet, analysts say.
King Abdullah’s decree this week banned anyone other than Islamic scholars appointed by him from issuing public religious rulings.
“We have noticed some excesses that we cannot tolerate, and it is our legal duty to stand up to these with strength and resolve to preserve religion,” said the Saudi ruler in his order, which was addressed to the kingdom’s Grand Mufti – the most senior official pronouncing on religious matters.
… men of religion, some of whom are accused of having furnished the ideological underpinnings al Qaeda, have been on the defensive since 2001 when the state turned away from them after the shock of the September 11 attacks carried out by Saudi nationals.
King Abdullah has tried curtail some of the powers of conservatives and he has taken cautious steps to improve the situation of women and the Shia religious minority.
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August:15:2010 - 16:27
A lot of people are concerned with the idea of only state sponsered fatwas. There is a lot of feeling that the culture’s view of fatwas in general needs to change. But a generation has grown up thinking you need a fatwa for everything you do, even blowing your nose. While there is no denying that there are crazy fatwas out there (I am currently in violation as my husband is upstairs rather than sitting beside me watching as I talk to strangers), I think the most important change will take place when education is truly reformed and people are weaned off the fatwa addiction.
August:16:2010 - 13:20
I’m conflicted about this decision. On one hand we won’t have rogue fatwas; like those condoning the killing of the owners of sat channels. But then again it makes Saudi Arabia even more of a monochromatic society, leaving little space for the multiple schools of thought nature of Islam.
August:16:2010 - 13:23
That is indeed the theoretical problem; perhaps it will be a real problem. The problematic aspects of it can be avoided by opening up the fatwa committee to more viewpoints, of course, but whether it happens or not is a real issue.
August:17:2010 - 00:14
free speech issues aside (well, they have always been in ksa), it is forbidden in islam to restrict fatwas to certain people non-assoc. w/ the ruler…let alone those assoc. with the ruler!
ksa is now an official theocracy (as defined by the West) reminiscent of medieval europe.
this will serve and please the US very well.
August:17:2010 - 06:52
Not actually… there’s a very strong line of argument that only those authorized by the ruler can issue fatwas. Here, for instance the Islamic Supreme Council for America notes that those who issue fatawa must be authorized to do so.
August:17:2010 - 11:26
they said ‘authorized’ to mean qualified.
in islamic history, there have been many cases where a despotic ruler calls on and threatens some imam that disagrees with the ruler’s policies. the clergy of an authentic islamic state are independent of the ruler yet may still be associated with the state. and these rulers were much more committed to islam than today’s.
the ruler may not assign or relieve any scholar, for the ruler may wish to deviate from islamic teachings for some gain.
you can think of the ‘official’ scholars of an islamic state as guardians of a ‘constitution’ (the quran and sunnah), like a supreme court; where the ruler should have no influence over.
basically the issue here is authority, and it is up to the poeple to decide who is and who is not. this is part of the decentralization of islam. someone unpopular can speak truth (say on a certain issue) and vice versa.
think some fatwa is outrageous? then don’t follow it. a fatwa is not the Holy Word. in fact, the earlier scholars instructed their students not to record their fatwas b/c they thought that people might take it as Quran.
nonetheless, if some fatwa might inconvenience you as a muslim and it was presented with strong reasoning and your heart feels that it is correct then it would be a sin for the muslim not to follow it.