page_title: Fatwa
section_title: Anti-colonial fatwas
hierarchical_section_title: Fatwa / In the modern era / Anti-colonial fatwas
caption_attribution_description: English: Tobacco Protest Fatwa issued by Mirza Mohammed Hassan Husseini Shiraziفارسی: متن فتوای میرزای شیرازی - از میان اسناد موجود در رابطه با تحریم تنباکو 12 صفحه گزینش شده است که حاکی از استفتا از آیت‌الله میرزای شیرازی، صدور حکم مذکور از سوی نامبرده و تأیید آن توسط شیخ فضل‌الله نوری و حمایت مردم از اجرای حکم است. ناصرالدین شاه نارضایتی خود را از مبارزات مردم در تلگرافی به ظل‌السلطان علناً گوشزد می‌نماید و در صورت عدم همکاری مردم با کمپانی موردنظر تهدید به اتخاذ تصمیم دیگری می‌نماید نهایتاً مجبور به لغو امتیاز می‌شود و ناصرالملک را مأمور رسیدگی به خسارات کمپانی رژی می‌نماید، میرزای شیرازی بلامانع بودن استفاده توتون و تنباکو را منوط به رفع امتیاز اعلام می‌کند.
context_page_description: A fatwā is a nonbinding legal opinion on a point of Islamic law given by a qualified jurist in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a mufti, and the act of issuing fatwas is called iftāʾ. Fatwas have played an important role throughout Islamic history, taking on new forms in the modern era.
  Resembling jus respondendi in Roman law and rabbinic responsa, privately issued fatwas historically served to inform Muslim populations about Islam, advise courts on difficult points of Islamic law, and elaborate substantive law. In later times, public and political fatwas were issued to take a stand on doctrinal controversies, legitimize government policies or articulate grievances of the population. During the era of European colonialism, fatwas played a part in mobilizing resistance to foreign domination.
  Muftis acted as independent scholars in the classical legal system. Over the centuries, Sunni muftis were gradually incorporated into state bureaucracies, while Shia jurists in Iran progressively asserted an autonomous authority starting from the early modern era.
context_section_description: Early in the era of Western colonialism, several fatwas were issued drawing on the classical legal distinction between lands under Islamic rule (dar al-Islam) and lands of war (dar al-harb) or unbelief (dar al-kufr). These fatwas classified countries under European domination as lands of war or unbelief and invoked the legal theory obliging Muslims to wage war against the rulers of these lands or emigrate. A number of such fatwas were issued during the 19th century, including in 1803 by Shah Abdul Aziz in India and in 1804 by Usman dan Fodio in West Africa. The unrealistic nature of these fatwas was soon recognized and in 1870 the ulama of northern India issued fatwas stating that Indian Muslims were not obliged to rebel or emigrate. A similar doctrinal controversy occurred in French-ruled Algeria. The fatwas solicited by the Algerian anti-colonial leader Abd al-Qadir differed in their technical detail, while the French authorities obtained fatwas from local muftis, stating that Muslims living under the rule of unbelievers were not obligated to fight or emigrate as long as they were granted religious freedom by the authorities.
  On many other occasions, fatwas served as an effective tool for influencing the political process. For example, in 1904 a fatwa by Moroccan ulema achieved the dismissal of European experts hired by the Moroccan government, while in 1907 another Moroccan fatwa succeeded in deposing the sultan on accusation that he failed to mount a defense against French aggression. The 1891 tobacco protest fatwa by the Iranian mujtahid Mirza Shirazi, which prohibited smoking as long as the British tobacco monopoly was in effect, also achieved its goals.
caption: Tobacco protest fatwa issued by Mirza Shirazi
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