A Fatwa Against Ringtones

An imam at a Mosque in Saudi Arabia issued a fatwa against mobile phones after one rang during prayers on Saturday. A report in the local newspaper, Al-Watan said that the imam had begun the Taraweeh prayer (Taraweeh is an Arabic phrase referring to extra prayers given by Sunnis at night in the Islamic month of Ramadan) when the sound of Arabic pop music began playing from the audience.

The imam turned to the crowd in the Mosque and issued his own fatwa. The fatwa states that the next time somebody allows their phone to go off in the congregation, the imam could throw the guilty person out of the mosque.

After a degree of shouting at the congregation, the imam regained his composure, turned around, and continued with the Taraweeh.

A fatwa, is a legal pronouncement in Islam made by a mufti, a scholar capable of issuing judgments on Sharia (Islamic law)."

Posted to the site on 9th October 2006