One of the leading voices in Sunni Islam has defended France's right to ban Islamic headscarves in state schools. Before talks with French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday, al-Azhar shaikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi said Muslims living in non-Muslim countries had to obey the law.
| "I know that's an unusual proposition, but if you try it a few times, you might get used to it..." |
"If a Muslim woman is in a non-Muslim country, like France, for example, and the officials there want to pass laws which are contrary (to Islam) on the question of the headscarf as it relates to the Muslim woman, then that is their right which I cannot interfere with as a Muslim," he said. "In that case, if a Muslim woman observes the laws of a non-Muslim state, then from the point of view of Islamic law, she has the status of acting under coercion."
| "Now, you may call that grounds for jihad, justification for invading them and stealing all their stuff and enslaving their women, but I ain't gonna call it that. I'm gonna shut up." |
A committee of French experts has recommended banning "conspicuous" religious insignia - including the hijab, the Jewish kippa and large crucifixes - from state schools. The committee has said religious insignia are incompatible with France's secular identity. But Islamic groups around the world have been seething condemned the proposal, which was backed by French President Jacques Chirac. They say it is an attack on freedom of religion, and will alienate France's five million Muslims rather than integrate them.
| "Yeah. The only way we could possibly integrate is to continue looking and acting different from everybody else in the country..." |
Jafar Abd al-Salaam, a professor of International Law at al-Azhar, told Aljazeera that Tantawi's statement was a personal opinion that was not binding on other members of the institution.
| "Yeah! What the hell does he know?" |
He added that although the hijab is not one of the most crucial issues in Islamic law, no state has the right to interfere with religious freedom.
| At which point demons appeared and carried off all the Soddies in the room... |
As head of al-Azhar, shaikh Tantawi is one of the world's most influential Islamic leaders. However, he is also no stranger to controversy. Appointed to his position by President Mubarak in 1996, many view him as a political stooge charged with rubber stamping the government's domestic and foreign policies.
| Muslims are kind of like Dummycrats. When the decision's in your favor, it's well-reasoned and logical. If it goes against you, then the guy's a political stooge. |
In the past he has stoked controversy by condemning human bombings in Israel, which many Palestinians say is their most effective way of opposing Israeli occupation. He also criticised Saddam Hussein for not going into exile and sparing his country the trauma of invasion, and said the US-led war on Iraq was not a crusade against Islam. On the other hand, the cleric gave his blessing to any volunteers who wanted to help Iraqis fight the invaders, even potential human bombers. |