Rushdie's 1988 novel, The Satanic Verses, resulted in Iran declaring a fatwa, or death order, against him because the book was regarded by some Muslims as blasphemous.
A group of 160 Somali religious scholars has issued a religious edict or fatwa against the Islamist group al-Shabab which controls much of the country.
But the fatwa had global consequences, making clear that the anti-blasphemy laws of a reactionary theocracy could be enforced by volunteer assassins anywhere on the planet.