Varied views on banning the veil in France
Regional-France, Politics, 1/1/2004

The position taken by the Sheikh of al-Azhar, Muhammad Sayed Tantawi, who considered that it is France's right to ban the wearing of veils in schools, raised differences among al-Azhar sheikhs and scholars in Cairo, as many of them criticized Tantawi and stressed that what he had said in front of the French minister of the interior Nicola Sarkuzi that views are his personal views.

The secretary general of the higher council for Islamic affairs and member of the higher council for Islamic research, which belong to al-Azhar, Abdul Sabbour Marzouq, strongly criticized Tantawi saying that "he only represents himself, he does not represent Islam or al-Azhar.. he gave up this post." Marzouq said immediately after Tantawi made his statement, that al-Azhar Sheikh did not consult al-Azhar's scholars, nor its sheikhs in the statement he had made, before his meeting with the French minister of the interior.

He added "the Grand Imam had a good beginning when he stressed that the veil is prescribed on every and each Muslim woman, and she will be accounted by the God Almighty if she does not. But he ( Tantawi ) did not do well when he agreed that the French government can oblige woman to remove their veil." Marzouq warned against the implications of the agreement of al-Azhar sheikh to the French law. He said that "banning the veil might be the beginning for banning other Islamic prescriptions, under the fierce onslaught Islam is exposed to."

Egypt's Mufti Ali Jum'a stressed that the French inclination is considered a flagrant intervention in the doctrines of Muslims, stressing that women wearing of the veil is stated in the holy Koran.

Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Tantawi said that wearing veil is a heavenly duty for a Muslim woman, who will be held to account before Allah should she fail to honour. No Muslim, ruler or ruled he may be, is allowed to contravene such Heavenly injunction, as long as a Muslim woman lives in an Islamic country, he added.

In as much as we do not allow anybody to interfere into our affairs as a Muslim country, we do not allow ourselves to do the same with non-Muslim affairs, the Grand Imam affirmed.

He further pointed out that official authorities in non-Muslim countries such as France are entitled to issue laws conflicting with the question of Muslim womanÕs veil. "I personally as Muslim, cannot object to such matter,"Tantawi said.

He further stressed that by complying to such laws, a Muslim woman shall be judged, from the perspective of ShariÕa ( Islamic law ) to be " acting under compulsion". As an evidence he quoted the Holy Quran as saying, " Forbidden to you ( for food ) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah. But if any is forced, with no inclination to injustice or transgression, Allah is indeed Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful ."

Previous Stories:
  Sheikh al-Azhar stresses France right to ban the veil   (12/31/2003)
  Al-AhramL Cinieri: Mubarak's visit to France coronation of Egyptian-French relations   (9/17/2003)
  Maher: Egyptian-French cooperation necessary for Mideast peace   (9/16/2003)

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