Egypt's mufti rejects criticism

[GOTFIVEONIT]

Government appoints the mufti but he says he is independent



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"What did you want me to say? I did not ignore the humanitarian dimension of the problem" - Grand Mufti Sheikh Ali Gomaa

Last Updated: Wednesday, 14 November 2007, 10:23 GMT

Egypt's mufti rejects criticism

Egypt's top Muslim scholar has defended himself against criticism for a series of controversial fatwas he has issued.

With tears in his eyes, Grand Mufti Sheikh Ali Gomaa told reporters his religious edicts were never influenced by pressure from the authorities.

Fierce criticism followed his recent ruling that speeding drivers cannot be condemned for killing people who deliberately stand in their way.

It became public days after just such a case involving a police car.

The mufti also offended many by saying that 26 Egyptian illegal migrants who drowned trying to reach Europe were the victims of their own greed rather than martyrs.

Sheikh Gomaa represents the Dar al-Ifta which is the official interpreter of Islamic law in Egypt based on the Quran and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.

"It has never happened that when issuing a fatwa, we have come under any political or government pressure," the mufti said.

'Abhorrent' ruling

Sheikh Gomaa insisted the drivers' fatwa dated back to a case in July, long before a police car killed a woman trying to prevent officers from arresting a female relative.

A committee of scholars at al-Azhar university, Sunni Islam's most prestigious institution, called the ruling "abhorrent" and something "even the devil himself hadn't thought of".

Many commentators in the media have asked the mufti to step down.

But Sheikh Gomaa urged the media not to turn Dar al-Ifta's rulings - which must be given to all questions it receives - into issues of national debate.

In the past, Egyptian religious scholars, including Sheikh Gomaa, have ruled that all accident victims are martyrs who are assured paradise, but after the boat tragedy his ruling that victims were not martyrs caused similar outrage.

"What did you want me to say? I did not ignore the humanitarian dimension of the problem," the mufti said.

"Those who died because they were ambitious or greedy... are not martyrs."

Some correspondents linked the deaths not to greed but to Egypt's economic woes and corruption in the employment system.

There was particular criticism as the ruling was issued as grieving relatives waited for the repatriation of the victims at Cairo airport.

The nationwide debate about fatwas was sparked in the May when an al-Azhar professor ruled that male and female work colleagues can only be left alone together if she has breastfed him at least five times.

The fatwa was later retracted.

[Revert]

I don't see the big deal on the driver one..if you stand in front of a speeding car on purpose then your ass deserves to be run over...

[riad19]

are fatawas legally binding according to the egyptian law?

[GOTFIVEONIT]

riad19 said

are fatawas legally binding according to the egyptian law?

of course not its a secular nation. but that's al azhar, the most eminent sunni institution in the world, so it has a huge effect on people.

[riad19]

GOTFIVEONIT said

of course not its a secular nation. but that's al azhar, the most eminent sunni institution in the world, so it has a huge effect on people.

Al Azhar is the most eminent sunni institution? I learn something new everyday

regardless, i dont see anything wrong with the point the Mufti was trying to make. I think he erred in attaching his fatawa with specific incidents. I dont have a problem with his statement - "Those who died because they were ambitious or greedy... are not martyrs." But when you are making that statement in relation to a specific tragic incident, its not the most political thing do to. At the end, only Allah knows what our true intentions were.

[MossadConspiracy]

The rulings are common sense

if somebody jumps in front of a car on purpose and the car runs them over, who is to blame?

if somebody puts their life in danger needlessly in order to get money and end up dying, should they be considered martyrs?

The rulings most probably are the product of pressure from the government, which is bad. But they should be judged by their merits and the evidence that is used to support them.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

ya but i wouldnt call a fatwa a 'ruling', its more of an opinion. they are not priests after all. because in the end they are nothing more than theologans. because thier field is the study of theology.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

riad19 said

Al Azhar is the most eminent sunni institution? I learn something new everyday

i guess maybe not in your wahabi world, but for the rest of the sunni's, uh ya it is.

[MossadConspiracy]

GOTFIVEONIT said

ya but i wouldnt call a fatwa a 'ruling', its more of an opinion. they are not priests after all. because in the end they are nothing more than theologans. because thier field is the study of theology.

yeah its not binding like the ruling of a judge

[LEGALEAGLE]

MossadConspiracy said

yeah its not binding like the ruling of a judge

really ?...I thought the view of a Qadi was binding on Muslims...

[MossadConspiracy]

well, i was saying that the rulings of judges are binding on people in egypt, while those of muftis arent

by egyptian law a ruling by Sheikh Gomaa isnt binding and has no legal status, except in some areas of family law.

if muslims in egypt choose to follow it because they believe in their religion and consider such rulings binding upon them, they can do that

if muslims in egypt choose to ignore it they can do that too. maybe they dont believe in the religion and feel that they wont be judged for actions that violate it. Or maybe they believe in it and dont care. or perhaps they disagree with that ruling and are adhering to a different ruling by another scholar on the same subject

but they are still extremely important because a huge number of muslims are practicing and believing people who do adhere to fatwas from Al-Azhar

[GOTFIVEONIT]

LEGALEAGLE said

really ?...I thought the view of a Qadi was binding on Muslims...

a qazi and a mufti are two different things.

[Revert]

GOTFIVEONIT said

i guess maybe not in your wahabi world, but for the rest of the sunni's, uh ya it is.

I have never consider al Azhar to be one fo the most prestigious institutions either,,,its good but not one I would consider.

GOTFIVEONIT said

a qazi and a mufti are two different things

True but in muslim countries the ruling of Qadi is binding on the citizens. Mufti's are the one who think about the issue, the Qadis use the Muftis work to make a ruling and implement it.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

Revert said

I have never consider al Azhar to be one fo the most prestigious institutions either,,,its good but not one I would consider.

the place is over 1,000 years old, and the oldest university in the world. not sure why you wouldnt consider them

True but in muslim countries the ruling of Qadi is binding on the citizens. Mufti's are the one who think about the issue, the Qadis use the Muftis work to make a ruling and implement it.

most muslim countries are secular.