Salman Rushdie and Fatwa

The Satanic Verses controversy concerns Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses. In particular it involves the novel's alleged blasphemy or unbelief; the 1989 fatwa issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie; and the killings, attempted killings, and bombings that resulted from Muslim anger over the novel.^[1]

The controversy was notable for being the first time in modern times a government had publicly called for the killing of a private individual in a foreign country; and the second time that a book, or calls for a book's censorship, caused an international diplomatic crisis.^[2]

A fatwā (Arabic: فتوى‎; plural fatāwā Arabic: فتاوى‎) in the Islamic faith is a religious opinion concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwa is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwa is called, in that respect, a Mufti, i.e. an issuer of fatwa. This is not necessarily a formal position since most Muslims argue that anyone trained in Islamic law may give an opinion (fatwa) on its teachings. If a fatwā does not break new ground, then it is simply called a ruling.^[1]

^{Pronunciation: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fatwa}

So, basically, a fatwa is just a ruling, but the particular ruling about Salman Rushdie caused most Westerners to believe that a fatwa was a death warrant. Just that one was! Hope this helps!