: a legal opinion or decree handed down by an Islamic religious leader
Examples of fatwa in a Sentence
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Rushdie has faced decades of death threats for his controversial writing, with the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini calling for the author’s death in a fatwa following the publication of his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.
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Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 11 Feb. 2025
Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa for Muslims around the world to assassinate him, leading the author to go into hiding until 1998, when the Iranian government called off the order to kill him.
—Kc Baker, People.com, 21 Feb. 2025
The federal case against Matar also notably ties the attack back to the infamous fatwa that Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued against Rushdie in 1989 over his depiction of the prophet Muhammad in The Satanic Verses.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2025
Khamenei issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, against nuclear weapons in 2003.
—Aurora Almendral, NBC News, 2 Nov. 2024
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Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 11 Feb. 2025
Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa for Muslims around the world to assassinate him, leading the author to go into hiding until 1998, when the Iranian government called off the order to kill him.
—Kc Baker, People.com, 21 Feb. 2025
The federal case against Matar also notably ties the attack back to the infamous fatwa that Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued against Rushdie in 1989 over his depiction of the prophet Muhammad in The Satanic Verses.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2025
Khamenei issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, against nuclear weapons in 2003.
—Aurora Almendral, NBC News, 2 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fatwa
Cite this Entry
“Fatwa.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fatwa. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.
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