IEFP: An application layer protocol for Islamic electronic fatawa management and security

Abstract

With the unfortunate increase of terrorist attacks and the attempts to tarnish the real image of Islam, irresponsible Islamic legal decisions (Fatwas) are used to mislead some Muslims and Non-Muslims to make incorrect conclusions. The widespread of communication technologies opens a huge challenge of E-Fatawa management. In this study, we present a novel application layer protocol for electronic Fatwas to meet the need for management rules to prevent irresponsible Fatwas. We propose a global structure for E-Fatawa with security services that guarantee, Mufti authentication, data integrity and non-repudiation. A proof of concept implementation shows that the protocol is easy to implement, feasible in terms of delay and key management, and protocol messages are flexible to be encoded in other application layer protocols.