[HiTech RedNeck]

Is OBL a cleric (pardon my ignorance)? Where does he get standing (within the context of Islam) to issue something like this? Can any fanatic do so?

[Travis McGee]

I am not sure how within Islam it is determined just who may issue a Fatwa. There is no "Islamic Pope", I think that leadership is much more open to anyone who can claim wide followership.

[sadimgnik]

Is OBL a cleric (pardon my ignorance)? Where does he get standing (within the context of Islam) to issue something like this? Can any fanatic do so?

As I understand it, a fatwah can only be issued on behalf of a nation-state. I remember reading that any fatwah issued by an individual can safely be ignored by any moslem. (*)

The same applies, I understand, to the lesser jihad (or holy war) whereas the greater jihad (or struggle against wrong-thinking) can and should be invoked by an individual .. but it only applies to him/herself.

(*) The fatwah issued against Salman Rushdie by the late Ayatollah Khomeini was issued by the Ayatollah in his role as supreme cleric of Iran. It still stands, because Khomeini died before it could be revoked.

NB: I am NOT a Moslem, nor a true scholar of Islam .. merely a journalist who has an interest in covering all sides of this issue.

Sadim