False Fatwas

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False Fatwas

Post by Goddess »

Curbing lucrative market of fatwas

The latest decision of the Peoples' Assembly (the Lower House of the Egyptian Parliament), to discuss a draft bill regarding issuing licences for sheikhs before they could issue fatwas (religious edicts) on local TV and satellite channels based in Cairo, has become a bone of contention between members of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, group. The draft bill would penalise those sheikhs, who issue edicts without a licence, by one to three years imprisonment.

Recently, a number of odd fatwas have been broadcast on satellite television channels causing much tumult, officials said. The proposed draft bill would organise all fatwa-related issues as well as combating the issuance of peculiar fatwas by establishing reliable background information on their pronouncements. However, details about the draft bill have yet to be disclosed.

People have questioned how today's Muslims could possibly benefit from a religious ruling that concerns the urine or the sweat of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). The same goes for a fatwa that examines the issue of the breastfeeding of adults. People wonder who is responsible for these religious rulings? Are they the results of religious scholars or media figures on satellite channels, commenting without any constraints? “Ten years ago, this issue did not exist. Now there is harsh competition between satellite channels, and all channels are hunting for whoever will raise their profiles and increase the number of viewers,” says Sheikh Abdullah Mujawer, head of the office of Sheikh of Al-Azhar, the most influential Sunni Muslim institution.

Mujawer added that most satellite channels host unqualified individuals to talk about religious rulings. He questioned why these satellite channels do not seek out scholars from Al-Azhar, or pious clerics who are trusted and well informed of the Holy Qur'an, the Sunnah (traditions and sayings of Prophet Mohamed), and Qura'nic studies. Mujawer stressed that these people understand the reasons behind the revelation of different Qur'anic verses, the process of compilation, and the various readings that must be understood by those who issue fatwas so that incorrect information is not aired on TVs. He noted further that some unqualified scholars are asked to appear on satellite channels and they find it beneficial to look for unfamiliar edicts that would attract attention and increase their own popularity.

Mujawer stated that such religious rulings cause confusion and discord among the people, and that the media was in fact the main culprit for creating this chaos by allowing unqualified figures free rein. They also allowed others who issue edicts that are irrelevant in this day and age, he said, according to the opposition Al-Ahrar newspaper.

Islamic thinker el-Saeed el-Gomeli has mixed reactions towards the proposed draft bill.He agrees that unsubstantiated and bizarre fatwas confuse Muslims. “But at the same time, we can not penalise any one who wants to talk about Islamic teachings and help the people deepen their religion and values,” el-Gomeli said. He linked his opinion to a hadith (saying) that Prophet Mohamed called for Muslims to inform each other of what he had said. According to el-Gomeli, there are many important Muslim scholars who are well qualified but had not graduated from a religious university. For Abdel Fattah el-Dardiri, Chairman of Al-Azhar Institutes Department, this proposed draft bill is “the cornerstone for broadcasting religious verdicts within its correct framework”. He stressed that many satellite channels took advantage of the democratic atmosphere and freedom of expression, which allows unqualified people to issue fatwas. “Many false fatwas raised doubts about Islam that could have been avoided by resorting to Dar el-Iftaa (the official authority for issuing fatwas) or Al-Azahr,” he said.

http://www.egyptiangazette.net.eg/gazet ... 2_24.shtml


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Post by jewel »

Very interesting that goddess :) needs reforming I should say
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Post by Horus »

We had the same problem within the UK with some Islamic clerics being invited to preach in certain mosques. Often they were from very poor and backward areas of their own countries with little or no understanding of the host countries customs or laws. This resulted in many young people attending those mosques being indoctrinated with conflicting ideas to their parent’s teachings. Originally this was tolerated, but after several of these mosques were effectively taken over by these preachers of hate, the Muslim leaders decided it was time to act and try to regain control once more. Regrettably though the damage has already been done and a complete generation of young people has been indoctrinated by these backward clerics putting forward their own interpretations of the Koran and applying it to a culture that they do not even understand.
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