Fatwas

Four fatwas have been placed against Raza and his family since 2010, and they have become regular subjects of hostile coverage by media in Pakistan aligned with Islamist parties.

The blossoming of digital fatwas is also an indication of the splintering of orthodoxies and the emergence of heresies.

The sheikh, who in the past had issued several fatwas (religious edicts) against the use of female suicide bombers, said he had changed his mind.

Arab world Notable Islamic clerics in Saudi Arabia and Egypt have issued fatwas permitting the consumption of "alcohol-free" beers that can be proven to contain zero traces of alcohol.

At the time Khomeini was an anti-Shah revolutionary and his fatwas did not carry any weight with the Imperial government, which did not have any specific policies regarding transsexual individuals.

Some fatwas stand out as controversial and often lead to hardship, violence and misunderstanding of religion.