 (AKI) - An Egyptian rights group has expressed concern about the safey of Soad Saleh, a leading female Islamic cleric who has received death threats after her comments on the use of the veil. The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights said it was "extremely worried at the violent campaign against professor Saleh, the woman who had declared the niqab (the eyes-only veil) not obligatory according to Islamic doctrine." In a statement it said it was unacceptable that Saleh's thoughts be labelled 'heretical'. | The group went on to warn about the increase in Egypt "of extremist attitudes towards the so-called anti-Islam intellectuals, repeatedly targeted with death threats". |
The group went on to warn about the increase in Egypt "of extremist attitudes towards the so-called anti-Islam intellectuals, repeatedly targeted with death threats".
Saleh, a teacher of Islamic Law and the former head of female religious studies at the eminent al-Azhar theological university in Cairo, said in a recent television programme that she was "disgusted" by women wearing the niqab. | Her comments inflamed fundamentalists who swore to take revenge on her. |
Her comments inflamed fundamentalists who swore to take revenge on her.
The niqab, the veil covering all of a women's face except her eyes, is according to some a fulfilment of 'Ihtisham' (invitation to female modesty) and according to others an expression of religious extremism. | The general debate on the niqab, which started recently in western countries and in some Arab nations, has been emphasized in Egypt by the controversial decision to ban 'munaqabas' (women wearing the niqab) from entering female dormitories for security reasons. |
The general debate on the niqab, which started recently in western countries and in some Arab nations, has been emphasized in Egypt by the controversial decision to ban 'munaqabas' (women wearing the niqab) from entering female dormitories for security reasons, at Helwan University. The most authoritative al-Azhar theologian Shaiek Tantawi himself took a stance in defence of the Helwan decision, arguing that "as long as female students are prevented from wearing niqab and not hijab (the veil covering only the hair), there is no breach of Islamic teachings". |