: a legal opinion or decree handed down by an Islamic religious leader
Examples of fatwa in a Sentence
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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.
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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
The Council of Senior Clerics drafted a fatwa that deemed the closing of mosques a violation of Islamic principles.
—Geneive Abdo, Foreign Affairs, 13 Aug. 2020
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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
The Council of Senior Clerics drafted a fatwa that deemed the closing of mosques a violation of Islamic principles.
—Geneive Abdo, Foreign Affairs, 13 Aug. 2020
See All Example Sentences for fatwa
Cite this Entry
“Fatwa.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fatwa. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
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