Saudi king to allow only official fatwas

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has moved to block any issuance of public fatwas, or religious edicts, by clerics not officially appointed, a newspaper reported Friday.

“We have noted many violations that we cannot allow, thus it is our religious obligation to confront it firmly to protect religion, preserve unity and to prevent evil,” the king said in the decree, published by the al-Sharq al-Awsat daily newspaper.

Only approved scholars would be allowed to issue public edicts, in the kingdom’s first such large-scale reform of the religious rulings.

The decree excludes fatwas on personal issues, “provided that they are private” between the individual and the cleric.

Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities for Muslims, both sit in Saudi Arabia and religious rulings from the conservative country, which follows strict interpretations of Islam, are watched by many adherents around the world.

In 2007, Saudi authorities launched a website, Alifta, which organized all official edicts into one online database.