Fatwa in Amenria

The process of issuing a fatwa (Chinese: 伊斯兰教令; pinyin: Yīsīlán jiàolìng, lit. Islamic decree), also known as an ifta in Amenria is a multi-layered process primarily involving the Ministry of Religion, but also the Heavenly Emperor and all Muslim citizens of age. While these fatwas are non-binding in nature, they have always been legalized as a Shariah or federal law shortly after being issued.

Procedure

Drafting phase

Before a fatwa is even issued, the Ministry's Ulama Council debate on whether or not a particular topic warrants a fatwa, or if any problems that relate to it can be solved through secular means. When a topic is deemed important enough for a fatwa, the council is split into those in favour of a certain ruling and those in opposition. Both sides formulate their arguments, citing The Qur'an and hadits, as well as studies on the supposed benefits of their respective arguments, should they pass into law, if available. If such studies are not available, they would be conducted at this stage, by experts on relevant fields, budgeted by the Ministry. It is also at this phase that the date for the beginning and ending of the next phases is agreed upon by both sides.

Debate phase

After both sides have completed the formulation and organization of their argument, they enter the debate phase, where they publicly discuss their thoughts. This phase also sees muftis of both sides campaign for their proposed ruling, with political safaris, rallies, social media activism, and even memes being common methods of socializing their views.

Voting phase

As its name suggests, the voting phase is where the topic of the fatwa enters the hands of the citizens, with a nationwide referendum being conducted in a period of 1-3 days, although this duration could be negotiated between both parties in the previous phase. To be eligible to vote, one must be a Muslim, at least 14 years of age, and mentally capable.

Legalization phase

During this phase, the votes are tallied before being announced to the public. The fatwa is then sent to the Heavenly Emperor as a bill, for him/her to legalize as a Shariah law, which only applies to Muslims, or a federal law, which applies to every citizen, at his/her discretion. While the Heavenly Emperor has the right to veto this bill, this right has not been exercised as of 2050.