29.7.1014. By Stop FGM Middle East

Last week a statement by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was circulating in Arab Social media calling female genital mutilation sunnah (the right path in Islam) and called on all Muslim women to have it done. A number of Western media outlets and international organizations reported this fatwa (religious ruling) thereby warning of its consequences for women and girls in the areas occupied by IS in Iraq and Syria.

A few days later this fatwa was unveiled as a hoax by several journalists with Spiegel online taking the lead. But was it really unveiled as a hoax? Most reasons brought forward are based on flawed information and misconceptions about the nature of fatwas. (more…)