| An Egyptian daily reports that the country's top Muslim cleric is planning to ban female students from wearing the face veil from schools run by al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's most prestigious institute of learning. The independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm said in a report on Monday that Sayyed Tantawi would soon order the ban implemented in all of al-Azhar's institutions. A security official also said they had verbal orders to prevent students wearing the face-covering veil, known as the niqab, from entering al-Azhar schools, and dormitories of three Cairo universities for security reasons. 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 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 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. |