Indian clerics oppose Cairo univs ban on burqa

For centuries,the Al Azhar University in Cairo has been referred to and quoted by several Indian clerics....

For centuries,the Al Azhar University in Cairo has been referred to and quoted by several Indian clerics. Even the respected Darul Uloom in Deoband says it is the second most respected seat of Islamic learning.

But after the Al Azhar banned the burqa in all-women colleges,the response here among the Ulema has been one of restlessness and confusion.

While the top clerics in Deoband have not spoken,others say the university is moving away from Islamic tenets and traditions.

In fact,the Al Azhars decision to ban burqa in girls-only classrooms and residences came after Sheikh Mohammed Tantawi,the countrys Imam and Sunni Islams foremost spiritual authority,openly spoke against the full veil during a tour to a Cairo school recently.

Egypt is heavily influenced by European countries like the UK and France. Men in Egypt dont wear beards or follow the Islamic dress code. So it is not surprising that the Al-Azhar University has taken such a decision. But we are of the view that it is against the Shariah, Islamic scholar of Deoband Maulana Nadimul Wazdi said.

Wazdi,who heads a girls madrasa at the Darul Uloom Deoband,hoped that the Arab world would speak out against the Universitys decision. The university,he felt,was moving away from the age-old Islamic traditions and tenets under the influence of Europe.

Jamiat-UIema-e-Hind leader Maulana Abdul Hameed Nomani and Qari Mohammad Usman,former pro-vice-chancellor of Darul Uloom,shared the opinion that its a Shariah rule that Muslim women should wear hijab in public and no one should tinker with this sacred religious code.

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Jamaat-e-Islami-Hind Ameer (president) Maulana Jalaluddin Umri felt that the Cairo university was interfering with the personal laws of the community by imposing ban on face veils. Interestingly,he was of view that women need not wear burqa in female-only enclosures. But one cannot ban it or deprive the women of their right to wear burqa, he said.

If they (women) venture out into public places,like markets or offices,they should wear hijab.

The shariah says it clearly. But then again there are two views on whether they should cover their faces also or not, he told The Indian Express.