ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Fatawā of Osama bin Laden

Okay kiddo, so imagine there's a man named Osama bin Laden. He was the leader of a group called al-Qaeda that did some really bad things, like causing a lot of violence and fear around the world.

One of the things that Osama bin Laden did was write and release something called "fatawā", which are like religious rulings or edicts. These writings talked about how it was okay to attack certain people or groups, and why that was allowed according to his interpretation of Islamic law.

But here's the thing - just because someone says something is allowed or okay, that doesn't always mean it's true or good. Many people and religious leaders disagreed with what Osama bin Laden was saying, and they believed that he was using religion to justify his violent actions.

So while some people may have followed Osama bin Laden's fatawā, there were also many others who rejected them and believed in a different understanding of Islam that didn't involve hurting innocent people.