Lebanon’s most senior Shia cleric issued on Thursday a fatwa, or religious edict, banning honour killings, calling the custom of murdering a female relative for sexual misconduct “a repulsive act”. Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah put out the fatwa after reports of an increase in the practice in Lebanon as well as neighbouring countries, his office said. “I view an honour crime as a repulsive act condemned and prohibited by religion,” Fadlallah, the most revered religious authority for Lebanon’s 1.2 million Shiites, said in a statement. “In so-called honour crimes, some men kill their daughters, sisters, wives or female relatives on the pretext that they committed acts that harm chastity and honour,” said Fadlallah, warning that the practice was on the rise in the region.