fitna

British  

/ ˈfɪtnɑː /

noun

1. a state of trouble or chaos

---

Etymology

Origin of fitna

Arabic

Example Sentences

Even Taliban officials in favor of opening girls’ schools stressed the imperative of eta’at, or obedience, an Islamic virtue essential for preventing fitna, internal strife — a term applied to the disastrous civil wars of the early Muslim states, as well as to the inter-mujehadeen struggles of the 1990s, when Kabul was destroyed in factional fighting.

From New York Times

“It’s more important than what’s allowed as halal. We have to avoid fitna.”

From New York Times

These schisms have been depicted by the Arabic noun fitna, which can mean both “charm, enchantment, captivation” and “rebellion, riot, discord, civil strife”.

From The Guardian

Fitna is a fitting word for describing not only the Islamic sphere but the troubled state of the world as a whole in 2020, beset as it is by wars without end.

From The Guardian

He continues: “Division and disorder rule. Conflict and bloodshed, instability, poverty, even humanitarian catastrophe in countries such as Yemen, Syria and Iraq, have become terrifyingly prevalent. From one end of the Middle East and North Africa to the other, vicious fitna, the age-old plague of division and strife, has erupted again.”

From Washington Post