In spite of repeated clarifications expressed by knowledgeable Muslims on various occasions that ‘Fatwa’ is an opinion or clarification (and not an order) expressed by Ulama (experts on Islamic law), which is sought on matters that are unclear (with respect to exhaustive basic laws of the Qur’ān and Hadith), it is unfortunate that every time a fatwa is issued, the main stream media goes on screaming that ‘Fatwa is issued against so and so by so and so’. The Fatwas are therefore issued for the benefit of common Muslims and certainly not against anybody. Just as the experts are free to give their opinion or fatwa, anyone is free to pay heed to it or not. Even after Omar Abdullah clarified that nobody can force the so-called ‘all girls band’ to perform music just as none can stop them, it is not clear what the TV channels mean by saying that ‘he paid only lip service’.
Muhammad Sirajuddin
Faridabad-NCR-Delhi