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A Rhetorical Examination of the Fatwa: Religion as an Instrument for Power, Prestige, and Political Gains in the Islamic World

Aljahli, Abdulrahman Ibrahim
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1491483098012349

Abstract Details

2017, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, Media and Communication.
This dissertation examines the fatwa, an Islamic religious ruling and scholarly opinion on matters of Islamic law, and how fatwa is used as cultural, political and legal rhetoric. It illustrates how rhetoric of ulama¿ [scholars trained in Islam and Islamic law], mutakallimun [theologians], muftis [group of theologians or canon lawyers], qadis [judges], professors, and Sheikh al Islam [the highest-level state religious official], play a role in culture and communication in the Islamic world to gain political, social, cultural, and spiritual control. Specifically, the dissertation examines two of the most renowned fatwas (fatawa) issued in the past three decades: First, the fatwa issued by Ayotallah Ruhollah Khomeini on Salman Rushdie, second, the fatwa issued on Bengali Bangladeshi ex-doctor turned author, Taslima Nasrin, who has lived in exile since 1994. The most important contribution to knowledge this dissertation makes is the analysis of the fatwa issued on Egyptian author and intellectual, Dr. Faraj Fodah, who was murdered in 1992. Next to no research or media coverage exists in western sources about Fodah’s life, publications, accomplishments, and assassination. Additionally, comprehensive evidence and transcripts from the trial of Fodah’s assassins is presented. A combination of rhetorical criticism and discourse analysis is applied to examine the rhetoric of fatwas. Also analyzed are global perceptions of fatwas issued on Rushdie and Nasrin, both controversial authors of South Asian heritage, their involvement with the western nations that gave each asylum, and the broader western discourses that have held both authors in esteem and as exemplars of free speech. The study enhances understanding of how religion is used as an instrument for power, prestige, and political gain in Arab and Muslim majority nations. The study also helps understanding of political and cultural turbulence in the Middle East and North Africa. Finally, the dissertation highlights need for broader understandings of the nature and role of the rhetoric of fatwa in the application of Islamic law, and complex nuances of transnational freedom of speech and human rights.
Alberto Gonzalez, PhD (Committee Co-Chair)
Lara Lengel, PhD (Committee Co-Chair)
Christopher Frey, PhD (Other)
Ellen Gorsevski, PhD (Committee Member)
144 p.
Communication; Rhetoric
Political Rhetoric; Political Communication; Culture; Middle East and North Africa; Fatwa; Islamic Law

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Aljahli, A. I. (2017). A Rhetorical Examination of the Fatwa: Religion as an Instrument for Power, Prestige, and Political Gains in the Islamic World [Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1491483098012349

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Aljahli, Abdulrahman . A Rhetorical Examination of the Fatwa: Religion as an Instrument for Power, Prestige, and Political Gains in the Islamic World. 2017. Bowling Green State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1491483098012349.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Aljahli, Abdulrahman . "A Rhetorical Examination of the Fatwa: Religion as an Instrument for Power, Prestige, and Political Gains in the Islamic World." Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1491483098012349

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1491483098012349
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This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.