What is "fitna"

Etymology 1 n. 1 (context Islam English) temptation 2 sedition 3 strife; social unrest or civil war among Muslims Etymology 2

alt. (cx rare English) (alternative form of fixing to from=AAVE lang=en nodot=1): (non-gloss definition: used to express a desire or future action.) contraction (cx rare English) (alternative form of fixing to from=AAVE lang=en nodot=1): (non-gloss definition: used to express a desire or future action.)

Fitna (or , pl. ; : "temptation, trial; sedition, civil strife") is an Arabic word with extensive connotations of trial, affliction, or distress. A word freighted with important historical implications, it is also widely used in modern Arabic. As with any word in Arabic, one should distinguish between the meanings of as used in Classical Arabic and the meanings of fitna as used in Modern Standard Arabic and various colloquial dialects. Furthermore, because of the conceptual importance of fitna in the Qur'an, its use in that work will be considered separately, though in addition to, the word's general lexical meaning in Classical Arabic.

Aside from its use in the Qur'an, fitna is used as term for the four heavy civil wars within the Islamic Caliphate from the 7th to the 9th century AD.

Fitna is a 2008 short film by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders. Approximately 17 minutes in length, the film attempts to demonstrate that the Qur'an motivates its followers to hate all who violate Islamic teachings. The movie shows selected excerpts from Suras of the Qur'an, interspersed with media clips and newspaper cuttings showing or describing acts of violence and/or hatred by Muslims.

The film argues that Islam encourages – among other things – acts of terrorism, antisemitism, violence against women, violence and subjugation of infidels and against homosexuals and Islamic universalism. A large part of the film details the influence of Islam on the Netherlands. The film was published on the Internet in 2008. Shortly before its release, its announcement was suspended from its website by the American provider because of the perceived controversy. It stirred a still continuing debate in the Netherlands as well as abroad, and a criminal prosecution for hate speech.

The Arabic title-word " fitna" means "disagreement and division among people" or a "test of faith in times of trial". Wilders, a prominent critic of Islam, described the film as "a call to shake off the creeping tyranny of Islamisation".

On 27 March 2008, Fitna was released to the Internet on the video sharing website LiveLeak in Dutch and English versions. The following day, LiveLeak removed the film from their servers, citing serious threats to their staff. On 30 March, Fitna was restored on LiveLeak following a security upgrade, only to be removed again shortly afterwards by Wilders himself because of copyright violations. A second edition was released later.

Fitna may refer to:

• Fitna (word), an Arabic word, meaning "sedition"
• Fitna (film), a 2008 short film by Geert Wilders
• The First Fitna (656–661 CE), a war of succession in the Rashidun Caliphate between Ali and the Umayyads (and Aisha)
• The Second Fitna (c. 680/683–c. 685/692 CE), a war between the Umayyads and Ibn al-Zubayr
• The Third Fitna (744–750/752 CE), including the Umayyad civil wars and the Abbasid Revolution
• The Fourth Fitna (809–827 CE), including the Abbasid civil wars and other regional conflicts
• The Fitna of al-Andalus (1009–1031 CE), in the Caliphate of Cordoba