You learn something new every day
In my recent battles with trying to format 200 pages of Word report, I wondered if issuing a fatwa against Microsoft was compatible with my ideology. So I decided to Google 'fatwa' and happened across http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatwa .
It appears that as a non-Muslim, and a non-scholar who does not know the Koran, I cannot pronounce fatawa (the plural form of fatwa). And, of course, the actual definition of fatwa is much broader than the media would portray, given that generally we only hear of the word when it involves death threats. Admittedly, that is one of the uses of fatawa, but they are intended to be a pronouncement of law and general guidance. There are differences in application between Sunni and Shi'ites, but Wikipedia says it better than I could. I am assuming that Wikipedia is halfway accurate here, which of course may be a mistake.
So I reached the conclusion that in the strictest sense, issuing a fatwa is not compatible with my ideology; however, the concept is (if I boil it down to making a pronouncement against something), even if no-one particularly has to take any notice of what I say.
The really quite random thing is that I feel better for knowing that.
And now I really do need to start wrestling with Word again...