Egypt's top imam orders student to remove conservative face veil

October 06, 2009
By Agence France Presse (AFP)

CAIRO: Egypt’s leading cleric ordered a student to remove her face veil while he was was visiting an academy linked to the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, an Egyptian newspaper reported on Monday.

Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Mohammad Tantawi asked the student to remove her niqab, a face veil worn by devout Muslim women, when he spotted her in a classroom, the daily Al-Masry al-Yowm reported, add­ing that the student complied.

Tantawi reportedly said the niqab was a tradition, not an Islamic obligation.

The newspaper also reported that Higher Education Minister Hani Hilal decided to ban women wearing the niqab from entering university residences.

Sunni Muslim scholars are divided on whether a woman must cover her face, with the majority saying it is not an obligation, but all mainstream scholars agree a woman must cover her hair and her body with loose fitting clothes.

In the Middle East, the niqab has come to be associated with Salafism, a brand of ultra-conservative Islam practiced mostly in Saudi Arabia.

Most Muslim women in the country wear the hijab, a veil that covers the hair, but an increase in women wearing the niqab has apparently alarmed the government.

The Religious Endowments Ministry has distributed booklets in mosques against the practice.

Source: The Daily Star.
Link: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/Oct/06/Egypts-top-imam-orders-student-to-remove-conservative-face-veil.ashx.