Is “fatah” an alternative spelling of “fatwa”?

Question

I've occasionally seen "fatah" being used instead of "fatwa" to mean Islamic religious ruling. For example, from Fear and Loathing of Sharks in Western Australia by Paul Watson (in an article which elsewhere complained about halal slaughter):

This week, this same premier of Western Australia issued a shark-hating Fatah, calling for their total annihilation.

You can find more examples by googling for "issued a fatah" or "a fatah against".

When I looked up "fatah" in onelook.com, all the entries referred to the Palestinian militant organisation Fatah.

Is "fatah" a valid alternative transliteration of the Arabic word typically transliterated as "fatwa", or is it a mistaken use of the wrong word?

Answer 1

your hunch is right sir: "Fatah" is a mistaken use of the wrong word.Fatwa is the word for Islamic religious ruling.For more explanation please see:

http://www.islamicsupremecouncil.org/understanding-islam/legal-rulings/44-what-is-a-fatwa.html