EGYPT: Al Azhar denies Facebook fatwa

Facebook may lead to sexual liaisons and illicit affairs, but Al Azhar's Islamic Research Academy has refuted reports that its fatwa committee issued a ruling against the social network.   

"The committee hasn’t issued any decrees regarding Facebook," said Sheikh Saied Amer, head of the academy's fatwa, or religious-edict, committee. "We haven’t even had any inquiries about the religious legitimacy of using it or not."

Al Azhar is the most influential Sunni Islamic institution in the world, supervising an Islamic university and handing down fatwas to guide Muslims in their religion, behavior and rituals.

News of a fatwa against Facebook spread across the Egyptian and Arab media after a report in London's Al Quds Al Arabi newspaper Thursday quoted the former head of the fatwa committee, Sheik Abdul Hamid Atrash, as saying the website was harmful to Islamic societies because it increased illicit relations between unmarried men and women.

Al Quds Al Arabi said Atrash's fatwa was based on a survey conducted by the Egyptian National Council for Social and Criminal Research, whose results showed that one in five Egyptian divorces was caused by infidelity with a partner found through Facebook.

According to the survey, Facebook has made it easier for lonely, bored men and women to find a partner and form a relationship outside marriage.

Atrash, however, followed up on his comments a few days later, stressing that he didn’t even know how Facebook operated.

"I didn’t ask people to stop using Facebook. All I said was that new media is a double-edged weapon,"  Atrash stressed. "The fatwa I issued was that people can only use the Internet to benefit from it in their work and life, whereas they're forbidden from using pornography or websites that promote illicit relations."

-- Amro Hassan in Cairo

Photo: Al Azhar mosque in Cairo. Credit: Reuters

Comments

[emre]

That this is even a subject of debate shows how irrelevant these societies are. Sorry guys, but you're going to have to change if you don't want to be a footnote in the history books.

[Ibrahim Ali]

It is pertinent to note that our Lord in Quranic verse 22:41 says that every rulers of the land to follow and direct all the citizens in their land to follow quranic messages. Inspite of repeated request made to the ruler of the country, the following messages is not directed to publish in the Government Websites, all other Websites in the country and also the local News papers of the country

Our LORD Appreciated Christians as per Quranic Verses 3:55,5:82,57:27,28 Except Quranic Verses 5:14,15,16 & 57,9:31. As per Quranic Versus 4:59 and 83, it is our duty to spread the following messages to all concerns towards public peace, security, health and wealth of mankind in the world as per our website www.goldenduas.com. The following message ought to have published to all the members of the group so far.As per quranic versus 4:59 and 83 it is a duty tospread the following messages in the interest of public peace, health and wealth. "please download from web site WWW.GOLDENDUAS.COM for peace, security, health& wealth for mankind and the same may be published as fatwa to all members of the muslims in the world based on quranic verses 2:2,10:57,17:11,16,28:59,39:55,57,13:37&65:8. Otherwise it will amount to refusal to follow our Lord Order, guidance and direction as per Quranic verses 6:26"

With kind regards

U.IBRAHIM ALI

[Syaifuddin Hayat]

bukan mungkin tapi pasti bagi janjinya Allah yang maha kuasa.berbagi bukan hnya bermanfaat tapi mendatangkan segala rahmatdan hikmah hidup

[Sweating it in the Sahara...]

whew!