Cairo Magazine – When the religious gets political

One of the major questions among Muslims is: Who has the right to issue a fatwa, and over what? This article from Cairo Magazine – When the religious gets political
goes into this important issue focusing on Al-Azhar.

In recent years, there has been a growing trend of �unofficial fatwas� being announced on state TV, satellite channels radio, newspapers and in mosques. For instance, earlier this year fatwas were issued banning yoga and ironing women�s pants�the latter because, according to the man who issued that fatwa, women are not allowed to wear pants in Islam.

Confusing the dispute is the lack of clear hierarchy between Al Azhar and Dar Al Iftaa, which is technically under Al Azhar�s jurisdiction yet supposed to be the sole source of fatwas. This has caused problem before. For instance, in January 2004, after Al Tantawi urged French Muslims to respect the ban on veils in public schools, Gomaa argued that the veil was an obligation for Muslims. Other religious scholars around the world also condemned Al Tantawi�s position.

Aboul Ela says the way people perceive fatwas has changed from the way they were perceived earlier in Islam’s history. “After the death of the Prophet Muhammed, Muslim scholars used fatwas to adapt to the changes of everyday life, because there are issues that are not mentioned in the Quran or the Sunna,” he explained. “Now people go and seek fatwas even if the issues are already mentioned in the Quran and are not debatable. The sheikhs don’t see how dangerous it is to issue a wrong fatwa.”