The head of Egypt’s Islamic al-Azhar University wants to set up a satellite television channel to broadcast Islamic legal rulings to try to end ‘fatwa chaos’, state media reported on Friday.The state news agency MENA quoted al-Azhar President Ahmed al-Tayeb as calling for “a special al-Azhar satellite channel entrusted to true scholars who do not desire fame or money and who will be guardians over the science of issuing fatwas and presenting Islamic issues”.
MENA said Tayeb wanted the channel to combat what he described as ‘fatwa chaos’ proliferating on other satellite channels and which he said harmed Islam and spread confusion in society. State-run al-Azhar, Egypt’s most prominent institute of Islamic learning, wants to ensure that there is only one authority for issuing fatwas in coordination with al-Azhar, the agency said.