"Not exactly....Elisha asked GOD to send the bears. Presumably, God made the decision as to the fairness.

The fatwah is assuming the role of GOD and calling on ignorant humans to assume the role of bears. very presumptuous "

That's what I was getting at. I might view the Rushdie circumstance differently if what was called for against him required the supernatural to determine the "fairness".

Instead, you compare the two.