Egypt's top Sunni cleric bans face veil in Al-Azhar.Summary: <p>Egypt's top Islamic cleric said Thursday that students and teachers will not be allowed to wear face veils in classrooms and dormitories of Sunni Islam's premier institute of learning, Al-Azhar, part of a government effort to curb radical Islamic practices.AaThe decision announced by Al-Azhar Sheikh sheikh or shaykh Among Arabic-speaking tribes, especially Bedouin, the male head of the family, as well as of each successively larger social unit making up the tribal structure. The sheikh is generally assisted by an informal tribal council of male elders. Mohammad Sayyed Tantawi came just days after the senior cleric said the face veil, or niqab Noun 1. niqab - a face veil covering the lower part of the face (up to the eyes) worn by observant Muslim women face veil - a piece of more-or-less transparent material that covers the face , "has nothing to do with Islam." Sarah El DeebAa Associated PressAa Aa CAIRO: Egypt's top Islamic cleric said Thursday that students and teachers will not be allowed to wear face veils in classrooms and dormitories of Sunni Islam's premier institute of learning, Al-Azhar, part of a government effort to curb radical Islamic practices.AaThe decision announced by Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohammad Sayyed Tantawi came just days after the senior cleric said the face veil, or niqab, "has nothing to do with Islam."Aa His comments and actions have sparked an outcry from Islamists who see them as an attack on their religion and some rights organizations who believe banning the niqab violates constitutional freedom.Aa The explosive issue of how much of a Muslim woman's body should be covered remains contested among Islamic scholars.Aa The majority of scholars say the face veil is not required but is merely a custom that dates back to tribal, nomadic See nomadic computing. societies living in the Arabian desert Arabian Desert or Eastern Desert, c.86,000 sq mi (222,740 sq km), E Egypt, bordered by the Nile valley in the west and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez in the east. before Islam began.Aa While a vast majority of Egyptian women wear headscarves, few wear the niqab, which is common in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia (sä  `dē ərā`bēə, sou`–, sô–), officially Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, kingdom (2005 est. pop. where a more conservative
form of Islam is practiced.Aa
The trend seems to be gaining ground in Egypt, leading to government attempts to ban the face veil from public institutions.Aa Tantawi, who was appointed by the Egyptian government, first attacked the niqab Sunday during a field visit to a middle school where he asked a student to remove her face veil, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. local media.Aa Al-Azhar schools are segregated between men and women.Aa The cleric said Thursday that his decision to impose a partial ban is based on a 1996 constitutional court ruling that granted education officials the right to regulate Islamic attire in schools. He said the goal was to "spread trust, harmony C* and the correct understanding of religion among girls."Aa The majority of scholars "say that the face of a woman is not a shame," he said.Aa Tantawi said Al-Azhar does not oppose women wearing the niqab in Al-Azhar school yards, even though local media had reported earlier in the week that he would impose a total ban.Aa A militant Palestinian group, Jund Ansar Allah, posted a statement on the Internet on Wednesday criticizing the Al-Azhar sheikh and urging Muslims to carry out attacks against the Egyptian government.Aa The media arm of the group accused Tantawi of "declaring war on the niqab, and facilitating matters of vice" in a statement posted on its website, according to the Washington-based SITE intelligence group, which monitors militant messages on the Internet.Aa Al-Azhar oversees education in over 8,000 schools that offer basic and secondary education to over 1 million students. The schools mostly offer religious education and operate in parallel to public schooling. Graduates can later enroll in Al-Azhar University Al-Azhar University (Arabic: الأزهر الشريف; al-Azhar al-Shareef, "the Noble Azhar"), is a premier Egyptian institution of higher learning, world-renowned[ .Aa The United Nations Development Program estimated in 2008 that Al-Azhar schools absorb nearly 20 percent of Egyptian students in basic and secondary education.Aa Security officials have said that verbal orders have also been issued to bar students covered from head to toe from entering dormitories at several other Cairo universities Cairo University (previously the Egyptian University and later Fouad the First University) is an institute of higher education located in Giza, Egypt. The university was founded on December 21, 1908 as the result of an effort to establish a national center for , which are overseen by the Higher Education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. Ministry.Aa But the attempt to bar the niqab from public institutions has run into scholarly opposition and social resistance.Aa Tantawi appeared to be attempting to walk a fine line by avoiding banning the niqab altogether from Al-Azhar schools.Aa Previous government directives over the last two years to ban women clerics wearing the niqab from mosques A list of notable mosques around the world: Asia Afghanistan
A researcher wearing the niqab who was prevented from using the library at the American University in Cairo American University in Cairo, at Cairo, Egypt; English language; founded 1919. It has faculties of anthropology, computer science, economics and political science, engineering, English and comparative literature, management, mass communication, psychology, science, in 2001 took her case to the Egypt's supreme court and eventually won. The court ruled a total ban on the niqab to be unconstitutional unconstitutional adj. referring to a statute, governmental conduct, court decision or private contract (such as a covenant which purports to limit transfer of real property only to Caucasians) which violate one or more provisions of the U. S. Constitution. .Aa The court did recommend that women wearing the niqab be made to uncover their faces before female security guards to verify their identity.Aa Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) is an independent Egyptian human rights organization, established in 2002. In December, 2006, the EIPR lost a significant case against the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, in which adherents of the Bahá'í Faith were , said Tantawi's decision does not constitute a violation of constitutional freedom because it does not fully ban the niqab and women forced to take it off will be in places where there are no men.Aa "This is much more limited than what it initially sounded like," he said. Copyright 2009, The Daily Star. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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