Editing Mufti (section)

===Public and political fatwas===

While most fatwas were delivered to an individual or a judge, some fatwas that were public or political in nature played an important role in religious legitimation, doctrinal disputes, political criticism, or political mobilization. As muftis were progressively incorporated into government bureaucracies in the course of Islamic history, they were often expected to support government policies. Ottoman sultans regularly sought fatwas from the chief mufti for administrative and military initiatives, including fatwas sanctioning [[jihad]] against [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk Egypt]] and [[Safavid]] Iran.{{sfn|Hendrickson|2013}} Fatwas by the Ottoman chief mufti were also solicited by the rulers to legitimize new social and economic practices, such as financial and penal laws enacted outside of sharia, printing of nonreligious books (1727) and vaccination (1845).{{sfn|Dallal|Hendrickson|2009}}

At other times muftis wielded their influence independently of the ruler, and several Ottoman and Moroccan sultans were deposed by a fatwa.{{sfn|Hendrickson|2013}} This happened, for example, to the Ottoman sultan [[Murad V]] on the grounds of his insanity.{{sfn|Dallal|Hendrickson|2009}} Public fatwas were also used to dispute doctrinal matters, and in some case to proclaim that certain groups or individuals who professed to be Muslim were to be excluded from the [[Ummah|Islamic community]] (a practice known as ''[[takfir]]'').{{sfn|Hendrickson|2013}} In both political and scholarly sphere, doctrinal controversies between different states, denominations or centers of learning were accompanied by dueling fatwas.{{sfn|Messick|Kéchichian|2009}} Muftis also acted to counteract the influence of judges and secular functionaries. By articulating grievances and legal rights of the population, public fatwas often prompted an otherwise unresponsive court system to provide redress.{{sfn|Dallal|Hendrickson|2009}}