Cairo Magazine - When the religious gets political

Ali Gomaa, the Mufti of Egypt, is supposed to have the final say on all fatwas applicable in the country.

MENA

A long-brewing conflict over who has the right to issue fatwas, or religious edicts, has taken a political turn.

On 29 May, Sheikh of Al Azhar Muhammed Sayyed Al Tantawi issued a fatwa stating that demonstrations are haram (forbidden). “It is haram to hold demonstrations because they put the work process on hold,” Al Tantawi said. “The demonstrations cause problems with traffic, people cannot get to their work on time, so it is considered damaging public property.”

The fatwa, however, was issued without the approval of Dar Al Iftaa, the institution headed by Mufti Ali Gomaa that is theoretically the only valid issuer of fatwas. Like Al Tantawi, Gomaa was appointed by the state. Some religious scholars and Islamist groups have denounced Al Tantawi’s fatwa, saying it was motivated by political rather than religious reasons.

Muhammed Mahdi Akef, the supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, said his group would not follow a fatwa issued by a government entity. “We all know that this fatwa does not represent the true meaning of Islam or Al Azhar. It was issued to serve the government’s plan,” he said.

Underlying the conflict is a simmering debate among officials and scholars at Dar Al Iftaa and Al Azhar about the process of issuing fatwas itself—and who should control it.

In recent years, there has been a growing trend of “unofficial fatwas” being announced on state TV, satellite channels radio, newspapers and in mosques. For instance, earlier this year fatwas were issued banning yoga and ironing women’s pants—the latter because, according to the man who issued that fatwa, women are not allowed to wear pants in Islam.

Confusing the dispute is the lack of clear hierarchy between Al Azhar and Dar Al Iftaa, which is technically under Al Azhar’s jurisdiction yet supposed to be the sole source of fatwas. This has caused problem before. For instance, in January 2004, after Al Tantawi urged French Muslims to respect the ban on veils in public schools, Gomaa argued that the veil was an obligation for Muslims. Other religious scholars around the world also condemned Al Tantawi’s position.

“It has happened many times that the Sheikh of Al Azhar would issue a fatwa and then the fatwa would be opposed by Dar Al Iftaa, or vice versa, and this problem has not been solved yet,” Muhammed Aboul Ela, a professor of Islamic Studies at Al Azhar University and member of Dar Al Iftaa’s committee, told Cairo.

Aboul Ela says the way people perceive fatwas has changed from the way they were perceived earlier in Islam’s history. “After the death of the Prophet Muhammed, Muslim scholars used fatwas to adapt to the changes of everyday life, because there are issues that are not mentioned in the Quran or the Sunna,” he explained. “Now people go and seek fatwas even if the issues are already mentioned in the Quran and are not debatable. The sheikhs don’t see how dangerous it is to issue a wrong fatwa.”

Another problem is that Dar Al Iftaa is unable to process demands quickly enough. The institution’s office in the Al Azhar complex in Cairo has a staff of 64 scholars, with a queue of petitioners visiting the building every day. In addition, there are 10 officials representing it in each governorate. Obtaining a fatwa from Dar Al Iftaa is a free but lengthy process.

“When we appoint someone at Dar Al Iftaa, we have some special requirements. The person has to have a long experience working with Al Azhar, have carried out research on fatwas and have a great knowledge of Islam and the Sunna,” said Mahmoud Ashour, Al Azhar’s deputy secretary-general. “But according to Islamic rules, you can issue a fatwa if you have a great knowledge of the Quran and Sunna, are sound in mind and known to be reliable, pious and correct in behavior. And here lies the problem, because many sheikhs believe that they have all these requirements and that they are fit for the job.”

In order to stop sheikhs from declaring themselves a mufti, or able to issue fatwas, Minister of Religious Endowments Mahmoud Zaqzouq decreed in May that ordinary sheikhs in mosques were banned from issuing fatwas. Zaqzouq said that only members of Dar Al Iftaa can issue fatwas on everyday life. When issuing important fatwas, these have to be approved by a committee at Dar Al Iftaa that includes the mufti himself.

But that is unlikely to stop the increasingly common practice of simply going to the local mosque for fatwas. “People are too busy to take the trouble of coming to Al Azhar, especially if they are not living in Cairo or their work does not allow them to come during the official working hours,” said Muhammed Farid Wasel, a former mufti of Egypt.

A small sampling of public opinion taken by Cairo suggested that most people would not bother with official institutions if they needed religious advice. “I have some of my neighbors who tried to go to Dar Al Iftaa and they said they had to write a request, wait in line for hours and then the fatwa they received was not very convincing,” said Salwa Khaled, a 43-year old housewife who lives in Downtown. “So instead of going through these bureaucratic procedures, we ask the sheikh at the mosque we pray at.”

Some are also turning to the internet for answers. Al Azhar’s website, www.alazharonline.org, has a section where visitors can post their queries and get an official response fairly quickly. IslamOnline (www.islamonline.net), a website funded by renowned conservative Sheikh Youssef Al Qaradawi, has a “sharia corner” that boasts a live fatwa chat.

“In the past, issuing fatwas was of great importance and not everyone had the authority to issue them, but now everyone thinks he is knowledgeable enough to issue a fatwa about anything,” said Ahmed Shawki Al Fangari, an Islamic researcher and a writer at Rose Al Youssef magazine. “So now we have fatwas about silly issues. They are only a sign of the weakening role of Al Azhar and the ignorance of the fatwa issuers.”