There are fatwas and there are more fatwas and then there are the ridiculous fatwas

Today's New York Times reports on the number of fatwas now proliferating in Islam - and some of those that have drawn the most attention:

First came the breast-feeding fatwa. It declared that the Islamic restriction on unmarried men and women being together could be lifted at work if the woman breast-fed her male colleagues five times, to establish family ties. Then came the urine fatwa. It said that drinking the urine of the Prophet Muhammad was deemed a blessing.

As the Times notes:

For many Muslims, fatwas, or religious edicts, are the bridge between the principles of their faith and modern life. They are supposed to be issued by religious scholars who look to the Koran and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad for guidance. While the more sensational pronouncements grab attention, the bulk of the fatwas involve the routine of daily life. In Egypt alone, thousands are issued every month.

The controversy in Cairo has been more than just embarrassing. It comes at a time when religious and political leaders say that there is a crisis in Islam because too many fatwas are being issued, and that many of them rely on ideology more than learning.

As the Times continues:

The fatwa is the front line in the theological battle between often opposing worldviews. It is where interpretation meets daily life.

“It is a very critical issue for us,” said Abdullah Megawer, the former head of the Fatwa Committee at Al Azhar University, the centuries-old seat of Sunni Muslim learning in Egypt. “You are explaining God’s message in ways that really affect people’s lives.”. . .

In Egypt, and other Muslim countries, where laws must abide by the Koran, fatwas by government-appointed officials can have the weight of law. “We have to be clear what is at stake here,” said Egypt’s grand mufti, Sheik Ali Gomaa, in a recent speech in London. “When each and every person’s unqualified opinion is considered a fatwa, we have lost a tool that is of the utmost importance to rein in extremism and preserve the flexibility and balance of Islamic law.”

I'm sure it must be humiliating for devout Muslims to have these sorts of fatwas grabbing headlines and being ridiculed around the blogosphere.

But perhaps devout Muslims can take comfort in the fact that once this type of mockery was allowed to flourish, it did unleash, at least in the West, an unprecedented period of human achievement.

Now, I duly note that no one can claim to have achieved Paradise on earth. Well, not unless, you are of the view that Afghanistan under the Taliban came close. But then I'm not sure what could be discussed if that really were one of the premises we had to operate on.