TORONTO — Salman Rushdie earned the muftis’ wrath by insulting
the prophet Mohammed. Raheel Raza’s crime was trying to praise
him.
A journalist and activist for inter-faith dialogue, Raza is no
stranger to hate mail or crank calls. She’s even been pepper
sprayed for criticizing her fellow Muslim immigrants in print —
the “whining” ones “from despotic regimes where they don’t have any
rights, and as soon as they land here, they start yelling ‘human
rights’ and ‘racism.’” This October, however, Raza experienced a
career first: a fatwa.
A month earlier, she sent out invitations to her annual Milaad,
a celebration of Mohammed’s birth, life, and achievements.
“Although this celebration is not an Islamic duty, it is a
spiritual tradition developed by Muslims out of love and reverence
for the Prophet and his family,” Raza told the Toronto
Star. “I’ve celebrated and participated in Milaads since I was
a child; at that time there were no extremists hounding us” —
extremists who call Milaad inauthentic, a recent invention that
mimics Christmas.
“I knew that sooner or later, some religious crank would find
me. But still, I was surprised when I saw the e-mail with my name
on it,” she says.
That’s right: Raza’s fatwa, ruling #2/882, arrived as part of a
“long and boring” e-mail from the American Muslim Association of
North America (AMANA). The letter’s signature boasts: “A member of
the Florida State Advisory Committee to the United States
Commission on Civil Rights.”
“What an enriching life these guys must lead,” muses Raza. “They
even have a 1-800 number.”
And there it is, on the links page: 1-800-95-FATWA. The same page links
to combative conspiracy theorists whatreallyhappened.com; Radio
Islam (which features articles like “How the Jews Rule the World”
and photos of anti-war protesters); and science4islam.com (where
the author of “Intermingling Between the Two Sexes” explains “Ex
president of America, George Kenedy [sic] has stated in 1962 that
the future of America is in danger, because its youth are
degenerated, liquid and sunk deep in reckless animal desires.”)
Raza’s fatwa was based on “Milaad: A Caution Against
Innovation,” an oft-cited ruling by Saudi Sheik Abdel Aziz ibn Baz,
for whom Raza has little regard. He’s issued fatwas on “idiotic
issues like whether women over 40 should wear bras or not!
Seriously, yes!” she says.
She isn’t kidding about idiotic fatwas. A quick search of Islam
Online’s Fatwa Bank turns up rulings by numerous clerics, about
“sneezing,” “clapping,” “fixing cats,” “wearing colored contact
lenses,” “writing romance novels,” and something called “continuous
urination.”
So who snitched on Raza, and how? She believes news of her plans
for Milaad spread from list-serve to list-serve before making its
way to AMANA, who took it upon themselves to correct her. This
despite the well-known, and often ignored, line in the Koran, “Let
there be no compulsion or coercion in religion.”
As for that toll-free line, 1-800-95-FATWA is actually run by
the Islamic Assembly of North America, which donates copies of the
Koran and other Islamic books to prison libraries.
Is “dial-a-fatwa” as sinister as it sounds? A spokesman for the
800 number said it is simply an advice line for Muslims seeking
guidance about proper religious observance. Told about Raza’s
experience with unsolicited e-mail advice, he insisted, “We don’t
send anything to anybody.” Raza hasn’t called the 800 number
herself. She doesn’t want the group to see her home number on the
call display, but she isn’t exactly sweating it either. Her Milaad
celebration proceeded as scheduled.
