For the first time in Saudi Arabia, women authorized to issue fatwas

Arab News
September 29, 2017

Riyadh, Sept 29: Saudi woman are now allowed to issue fatwas following a vote in the Shoura Council.

The historic move was approved by 107 votes and ends 45 years of only specialist men being able to issue fatwas in the Kingdom.

The female muftis are to be chosen by a royal decree.

The Shoura Council approved the recommendation, made by one of its members, during its 49th meeting, calling on the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta, the only governmental body authorized to issue fatwas in the Kingdom, to open independent sections for women.

Women members of the Council last March had demanded that the issuing of fatwas should not be limited to men, through the involvement of female academies specialized in the study of jurisprudence in issuing fatwas.

The Council called on the General Presidency to appoint specialists for the issuance of fatwas, and provide the necessary human and material requirements, asking it to involve specialists in the Islamic Shariah sciences in some of its works.

The Council also called for the establishment of Ifta-affiliated endowments, and work to develop a mechanism to follow up the implementation of the order to organize the fatwa.

The Shoura Council’s decision was welcomed by specialists in Islamic law and jurisprudence, as well as the majority of the population.

Professor of Juristic Policy at the Naif College for National Security, Saad Al-Quwaie, told Al Hayat newspaper that the involvement of women in Islamic jurisprudence and their participation in scientific activities was one of the key issues in the Kingdom.

“Confirming the work of women in the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta is an important requirement of Islamic law and jurisprudence. It is governed by the rule of warding off evils takes precedence over bringing benefits for the sake of gender balance, without forgetting that each one has its own role,” he said.

He also said that “the work of women in the General Presidency will be in the field of dissemination of science and awareness.”

He added that the recommendation opened up new horizons regards solving the problem of unemployment among women, guaranteeing the right of women to have a flexible and safe working environment, as permitted by Shariah.

Al-Bishi, a specialist in Shariah policy said that women are central in Islamic communities and the move allowing them to issue fatwas would benefit society.

“This recommendation coincides with the Kingdom’s comprehensive renaissance in the fields of social, economic, political, scientific and juristic.” Al-Bishi said.

He added that the global and regional fluctuations and transformations have forced the Ifta institutions and the scientific and research centers to develop their programs and originate new specialties compatible with the changing course.

“It also imposed the need to introduce women with jurisprudential skills and expertise in emerging cases to repel external interference from those who deal with Saudi women’s issues contrary to Shariah law and the system of this country,” he said.

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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News Network
December 3,2025

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Mangaluru, Dec 3: A group of Congress workers gathered at the Mangaluru International Airport on Wednesday to welcome AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, but the reception quickly turned into a display of support for Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Venugopal arrived in the city to participate in the centenary commemoration of the historic dialogue between Mahatma Gandhi and Narayana Guru. The event, organised by the Sivagiri Mutt, Varkala, in association with the Mangalore University Sri Narayana Guru Study Chair, is being held on the university’s Konaje campus.

KPCC general secretary Mithun Rai and several party workers had assembled at the airport to receive Venugopal. However, the moment he stepped out, workers began raising slogans backing Shivakumar.

The university programme will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

This show of support comes just a day after Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar would lead the government “when the high command decides.” The chief minister made the comment after a breakfast meeting at Shivakumar’s residence—another public display of camaraderie between the two leaders amid ongoing attempts by the party high command to downplay their leadership rivalry.

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News Network
November 24,2025

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Israeli forces have pushed over the Syrian frontier, erecting a checkpoint and stopping vehicles in the southwestern city of Quneitra, in yet another breach of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

The violation took place on Sunday, when the troops made their way across the border, setting up the outpost near the Ain al-Bayda junction in northern Quneitra, Syrian outlets reported.

According to the al-Ikhbariya paper, an Israeli detachment positioned itself at the junction, halting cars and conducting searches.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that three Israeli military vehicles then moved further into the northern countryside, deploying between the town of Jubata al-Khashab and the villages of Ofaniya and Ain al-Bayda. The agency added that a separate Israeli unit mounted a new incursion in the central region, approaching the villages of Umm Batina and al-Ajraf.

Residents said such activities have surged in recent months, pointing to Israeli advances onto farmland, leveling of extensive forested areas, arrests, and spread of mobile checkpoints.

The Israeli regime began markedly increasing its military aggression against Syria last year.

The escalation coincided with increasingly ferocious onslaughts throughout the country by the so-called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Takfiri terrorist group, which the government of President Bashar al-Assad had confined to northwestern Syria. The HTS, however, managed to overthrow the government as the Israeli attacks would pummel the country’s civilian and defensive infrastructure.

Various reports have shown that, during the escalation, the regime conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes on the Syrian territory and over 400 ground raids into the south.

Following the collapse of the Assad government, Tel Aviv also widened its grip over the occupied Golan Heights by taking control of a demilitarized buffer zone, in defiance of a 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Earlier this month, senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the buffer zone, prompting expressions of alarm on the part of the United Nations.

The United States, the regime’s biggest ally, has, meanwhile, been fraternizing the HTS head Abu Mohammed al-Jolani amid the widely reported prospect of rapprochement with Tel Aviv.

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