[iwar] [fc:Dueling.Fatwas]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-10-13 23:39:40
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Dueling Fatwas

Religious decrees have varying power

By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff, 10/13/2001

Osama bin Laden, this week given the moniker ''The Evil One'' by
President Bush, issued a fatwa in 1998 instructing Muslims to kill
Americans. 

This week, American Muslims released their own fatwa, giving permission
to American Muslim soldiers to participate in a war against bin Laden,
saying ''all Muslims ought to be united against all those who terrorize
the innocents.''

Since the terrorist attacks of Sept.  11, Muslims around the United
States and the world have generally agreed that bin Laden has no
authority to issue fatwas, or religious rulings, because he has no
formal training as a Muslim cleric. 

But the dueling fatwas have brought to the fore a little-understood
aspect of Islam: There is no agreed-upon religious authority other than
God, and Muslims must decide for themselves which religious rulings to
follow. 

''These fatwas [from bin Laden] are more dangerous than taking charge of
a terrorist cell, because this is incitement - they're anesthetizing the
consciousness of the terrorists,'' said Frank E.  Vogel, director of the
Islamic Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School.  ''These fatwas are
leading thousands of Muslims into acts of terrorism, and somehow the
greater weight of opinion needs to be brought to bear to discredit those
fatwas, and not allow them the name of fatwa.''

Determining which fatwas are valid can be difficult, because Islam,
especially the Sunni form practiced in much of the world, has no formal
ordination process for clergy and no religious hierarchy.  Congregations
of Muslims generally select their most learned member as their imam, or
spiritual leader, and Muslims tend to look to religiously educated men
who are respected by other Muslims for religious advice. 

Fatwas are most often issued by muftis, who are particularly prestigious
scholars.  In some Muslim countries, the governments have attempted to
choose the top religious officials. 

For many Muslims, a fatwa is a somewhat routine religious ruling: It's
what you get when you ask whether wearing lipstick violates the fast of
Ramadan, or whether using a credit card violates a religious prohibition
against interest. 

But increasingly in recent years, Muslims have sought to apply Islamic
law to political matters, and for many non-Muslims, fatwas were defined
in 1989, when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa asking Muslims
to kill author Salman Rushdie, as well as his publishers, for allegedly
blaspheming the prophet Mohammed in a novel, ''The Satanic Verses.''

''Most Americans think a fatwa is a death sentence, or that it's some
cataclysmic statement by some dark, robed, turbaned figure,'' Vogel
said.  ''In fact, it is just a statement of religious law by a figure
with religious legal authority.''

Scholars emphasize that fatwas are not legally binding - they have power
only to the extent that the faithful decide to follow the issuer of the
ruling. 

''A fatwa does not have automatically enforceable content, and there can
be different fatwas on the same subject,'' said Frederick M.  Denny, an
Islamic studies professor at the University of Colorado. 

Denny, like other experts on Islam, said bin Laden does not have the
religious authority to issue a fatwa, but his declarations still have
influence based on his politics and his personality. 

''To call his declaration a fatwa is overreaching, but it has potential
impact because so many people see him as charismatic, as a tremendously
popular spokesman for people who feel their point of view is not being
represented in the world,'' Denny said.  ''It's an emotional call to
arms.''

Many American Muslims say they simply shrug off bin Laden's
pronouncements, whatever he calls them. 

''Osama bin Laden is now a well-known terrorist, and nobody is going to
be looking to him other than that small fringe of radicals,'' said M. 
Ilyas Bhatti of Plainville, a former commissioner of the Metropolitian
District Commission.  ''It's not like there's a pope.  There is no one
person in the Islamic world - there is nobody between you and God, and
you ask God for guidance.''

This week's release of a fatwa at the National Press Club in Washington,
D.C., was somewhat of an unusual marker for Muslims in America.  The
fatwa was issued by prominent Middle Eastern scholars at the request of
Army chaplain Abdul-Rasheed Muhammad. 

''Muslims are part of the American society,'' said Taha Jabir Alalwani,
president of the Fiqh Council of North America, the top body of Muslim
scholars in the United States.  ''Anyone who feels he is fighting in a
just war must fight.''

Imam Talal Eid of Quincy said there is nothing unusual about Muslims
seeking a religious ruling before going to war against Muslims - he
noted that during Vietnam, many Americans cited religious concerns as a
reason for declining to fight. 

And Denny, the religious studies professor from Colorado, said many
members of other faiths turn to clerical authority for rulings on
various aspects of daily life. 

''The other strict groups, such as Roman Catholics and Orthodox Jews,
have often voluntarily submitted themselves to often very strict and
demanding rules and regulations and standards of deportment,'' he said. 
''It's perfectly normal here.''

Michael Paulson can be reached by e-mail at mpaulson@globe.com. 

This story ran on page A11 of the Boston Globe on 10/13/2001.  ©
Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company. 

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