فتوة
From the three letter
Arabic root verb Fa Ta Aleph, meaning
declare or
verdict. Fatwa is performed by a single religious
Sheikh or a combination of Sheikhs, a Mullah or Mullahs, an
Ayotollah or Ayotollahs, a Khalifah, a Ph.D. holder, whatever title the issuer hold.
One such example of a fatwa was the banning of satellite dishes in
Saudi &
Iran some 5 years ago because it contains western immoralities according to Saudi and Iran's point of view.
Any one can perform a fatwa and justify it. It all depend on how the masses of
Muslims follow it or reject it.
There are two camps of Muslims in the world today, the peace camp, and the war camp. Obviously, the peace camp outnumber the war camp. The split may be explained by the follwoing verse, "And if ye punish, then punish as ye were punished (by them). But if ye show patience, that is indeed the best (course) For those who are patient." (
Quran, 16:126). The first part of the verse is what Al Qaeda follow and militant Palestinians are following, the change of direction in the second part is what the majority of peaceful Muslims around the world are following.