Fatwa

Mehdi Mozaffari reviews the history of the fatwa from its origins and its evolution into an intrinsic part of Islam. He looks at the general use of fatwa in relation to Islamic rules and traces the evolution of ShiAeite Islam from a pacific and quietist movement into a militant and violent force. The different stages of ShiAea violence before and after the Islamic revolution are studied, and here it can be seen that Rushdie was not the only writer to receive a death sentence from Khomeini. Examining the origins of ShiAea violence, especially in its revolutionary form, was not just the result of one manAes (KhomeiniAes) will; it also emerged because of the economic interests of a social group, the Bazar. A controversial argument, in direct contrast to the commonly held notion that the Islamic revolution was a religious revolution only. Other aspects, ranging from how blasphemy has been treated within different faiths, to freedom of expression in Islam, and international reactions to KhomeiniAes death sentence are also discussed in this well-documented and balanced study of a highly controversial subject.