Re: Moderate Muslims
Its not an issue of not believing in 1400 old year ideas, but in some cases the guidance is not there on how they apply in current day and age. This is why we have fatwas. This is why people ask questions. The answers may be what suits them or what does not suit them.
We do need guidance and ruling (i.e. interpretation) to situations and circumstances that no one asked questions about back then. The question is not about validity of the ruling, but on how it applies to certain situations.
Fraudiay, Ijtihad is an integral part of islam and is used when there are matters that are unclear. Offcourse im sure you know that. Though every tom harry and sally mullah are not fit to offer fatawah's and by and large the top respected scholars are the ones who's fatawah's should be followed and understood.