Muslim clerics in Spain issued what they called the world's first fatwa, or Islamic edict, against Osama bin Laden on Thursday, the first anniversary of the Madrid train bombings, calling him an apostate and urging others of their faith to denounce the al Qaeda leader.
Escudero said a fatwa can be issued by any Muslim leader who leads prayer sessions and as he serves such a role, he himself lawfully issued the edict.
He called it an unprecedented condemnation of bin Laden. "We felt now we had the responsibility and obligation to make this declaration," he said in an interview.
Did you click the link? The clerics who issued it refer to it as a first.
John Safran convinced a Muslim Cleric to declare a fatwa on an Australian talk-show host with some bad photoshopping and bumper-stickers. Colour me skeptical.
May 2003 - "Mission Accomplished"
June 2005 - "The mission isn't easy, and it will not be accomplished overnight"
-- G W Bush, freelance writer for The Daily Show.
You are right in that many Muslims, almost all of them actually, consistantly condem terrorism but this is the first time, I think, that something like this has been done. I think it's an important thing.
