In the past, scholars of Islam used to gain prominence by issuing important fatwas (religious edicts) that were characterized by their objectivity and integrity. But things have changed.
Today, fatwas in Egypt are issued just about daily to forbid anything from the internet and satellite dishes to mobile phones and yoga.
"Most of the fatwas issued recently are stupid, silly and against any kind of modernity," said Ahmed Shawki Al Fangari, an Islamic researcher and a writer at Rose El Youssef magazine. "These fatwas are a strong indication of the ignorance and frivolity of their issuers who want to keep people away from other important issues like democracy and technology," he added.
According to Al Azhar scholars, proper fatwas play a very important role in the everyday life of Muslims.
"World and life circumstances change every day and fatwas are one of the means by which Islam adapts to this change," said Mohammed Abu Laila, a professor of Islamic Studies at Al Azhar University and a member of the Dar Al Iftaa committee, the Al Azhar body responsible for overseeing interpretations and fatwas.
"There are issues in modern life that are not mentioned in the Koran and the Sunna and so fatwas try to find an answer to questions concerning these issues," he told the Middle East Times.
Today, however, sheikhs and scholars are issuing strange fatwas almost daily in mosques, in newspapers, on radio and on television. One recent fatwa forbade the practice of yoga on the grounds that it is an ascetic Hindu practice. Another declared that Muslims should not use the internet because it makes them waste their time.
Most recently, a fatwa announced that ironing women's pants was forbidden as women are not allowed to wear pants in Islam.
This kind of fatwa has proliferated due to the lack of credible muftis (fatwa issuers). While official muftis require official qualifications, as well as a number of years served at Al Azhar and membership in Dar Al Iftaa, these criteria do not apply to unofficial muftis.
"In Islam you can be a mufti if you are an adult, sound in mind, reliable, pious, intelligent, free of the causes of sin and correct in behavior," said Sheikh Maamoun Al Tawil of Al Huda mosque. "You must also have a great knowledge of the Koran and the Sunna."
According to Tawil, this vague set of prerequisites is the core of the problem.
"With the nonexistence of a formal framework for deciding who may become a mufti, it has become very hard to stop people from declaring themselves muftis," he added.
Members of Dar Al Iftaa told the Middle East Times that for now, the only advice they can give people is not to listen to unofficial muftis. "Issuing fatwas is our main task and if [people] need to ask about something they should come to us," said one such member. "But the problem is that few people come to us as they prefer to go to sheikhs in their neighborhoods."
Indeed, Sharif Ibrahim, a 52-year-old accountant said he would not go to Dar Al Iftaa if he needed advice. "It is too far away and I would not want to go through bureaucratic procedures to meet one of their sheikhs," he said. "It is easier for me to go to a nearby mosque and ask the sheikh there."
Ibrahim and various others interviewed by the Middle East Times said that they did not trust Al Azhar, perceiving it as a government entity that only issues fatwas that please the state.
"They once issued a fatwa saying bank interest was haram [sacrilegious] which is something we all know," said Radwa Naguib, an Islamic researcher. "But when the state felt banks were going to be affected negatively they told [Al Azhar] to change that fatwa."
Last year Al Azhar was embroiled in controversy when a member of the fatwa committee issued a ruling stating that dealing with Iraq's Interim Governing Council was sacrilegious. Senior figures within Al Azhar, however, did not welcome that fatwa and Sheikh of Al Azhar Mohammed Sayed Tantawi quickly made it known that the "fatwa does not represent Al Azhar".
Even more troublesome was an opinion issued by Tantawi stating that French Muslims had to respect the French government's ban on the veil in public schools - an opinion that was quickly attacked both within Al Azhar itself and across the Muslim world.
"Both Al Azhar and Dar Al Iftaa are very busy with fatwas of a political or economic nature," Naguib said. "The other ridiculous fatwas that are flooding our lives are being ignored by official muftis," she added.
"Flooding people's minds with fatwas," is how veteran writer and columnist Salama Ahmad Salama described the current situation. "The problem in not with Islam... this phenomenon encourages people not to use their minds when dealing with the simplest issues," wrote Salama in the daily Al Ahram last month.
A flood of fatwas inundates Egypt
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