Althouse: Sheikh Mohamed Tantawi, the highest Muslim authority in Egypt, will issue an edict saying that full-face veiling has nothing to do with Islam.

October 5, 2009

Sheikh Mohamed Tantawi, the highest Muslim authority in Egypt, will issue an edict saying that full-face veiling has nothing to do with Islam.

It's "merely a tradition, with no connection to religion or the Koran."

24 comments:

Original Mike said...: Hope he's got bodyguards.; 10/5/09, 1:20 PM
rhhardin said...: Islam is whatever the most ruthless thug says it is.; 10/5/09, 1:23 PM
Hoosier Daddy said...: It's "merely a tradition, with no connection to religion or the Koran."

What about stonings and beheading?; 10/5/09, 1:24 PM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Waiting for MUL or Freder to fly in denouncing us as racists in

3

2

1.....; 10/5/09, 1:26 PM
Scott said...: A great book on the struggle for authoritative commentary on Islamic law, and why the legal vacuum has led to radicalism, is "The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists" by Khaled M. Abou El Fadl, a UCLA law professor.; 10/5/09, 1:27 PM
bearbee said...: He's made other controversial rulings: Wiki; 10/5/09, 1:29 PM
Cedarford said...: Sheikh Mohamed Tantawi.....
It's "merely a tradition, with no connection to religion or the Koran."

It makes sense for Islamic scholars, who typically come from the best and brightest in certain Muslim countries with a tradition of Scholarship...to consider the direction Islam might be headed in and seek to steer it to what is religiously sustainable...rather than make it so extreme as to exterminate the joy from people's lives and jeopardize their safety.

Egypt, Turkey, Iran, India, and KSA are the main "prestige sources" of Islamic scholarship. Many have begun weighing in on matters such as Muslim women functioning in the modern world, how terorism..as opposed to Jihad..is unproductive. And on matters of public appearance (beards, niquabs, washing hands with dirt when soap and water are freely available) that have absolutely nothing to do with Islam...but cultural traditions...

A problem for Islam is that the religion still blends the sectarian with the secular...and still has a warlike creed that IS in the Qu'ran.

And unlike Christianity, Hindi - it never formed a unified body to resolve doctrinal issues. Or mechanism by which established authorities in religious variants agreed to meet in Synods vs. continue with bloody internicene religious war.; 10/5/09, 1:44 PM
Paddy O said...: Has Andy Williams issued any pronouncements on this issue yet?; 10/5/09, 1:49 PM
Ironclad said...: And in another flash of sanity decision, the King of Saudi Arabia removed one of the members of the Council of Islamic Scholars, Sheik Sa'ad Al-Shethri by royal decree after he questioned co-ed education (as well as suitability of the syllabus) at the newly opened KAUST university. KAUST was constructed in less than 2 years as an open University with international scholars and fabulous facilities. The King personally endowed the University with over $10 billion to make it independent from the Saudi Government Education Ministry and control. A small opening in the Kingdom perhaps, but a definite message from the top not to tamper with the intention of bringing a new agenda into education practice.; 10/5/09, 1:58 PM
Bissage said...: Clearly, Sheikh Mohamed Tantawi has been bought off by the evil corporations that manufacture sunscreen products.; 10/5/09, 2:00 PM
Unknown said...: Until somebody (O?) kills off the nutcases in AQ, Hezbollah, etc., this is just some academic moonbat issuing an opinion, as far as most of Islam is concerned.

And, yes, rh and Mike have it right; homie better watch his back.

WV "mogravel" What Miss Dowd lays in her driveway; 10/5/09, 2:06 PM
Tibore said...: ""Sheikh Mohamed Tantawi, the highest Muslim authority in Egypt, will issue an edict saying that full-face veiling has nothing to do with Islam."

And the radical islamicists will respond by calling him a heretic. Unfortunately, the hierarchy of authority in Islam is quite flat, far flatter than it is in quite a few other religions (I'm thinking Christianity specifically), so someone else can speak up (like Ayman al-Zawahiri) and command equal religious authority.

That sucks, but that's the way it is, unfortunately. That's how so many of that religion's radicals get mired in the Dark Ages. They practice selective acceptance of authority and are able to justify such selectivity.; 10/5/09, 2:13 PM
Triangle Man said...: this is just some academic moonbat issuing an opinion, as far as most of Islam is concerned.

No mere academic moonbat, but rather a Dean.; 10/5/09, 2:29 PM
HoTouPragmatosKurios said...: Cedarford's "internicene" for "internecine" is so perfectly contextual! Does it qualify as a true eggcorn?; 10/5/09, 2:30 PM
miller said...: In Islam it appears that nearly anyone can be an expert.

Well, anyone male.; 10/5/09, 2:41 PM
Unknown said...: Triangle Man said...

this is just some academic moonbat issuing an opinion, as far as most of Islam is concerned.

No mere academic moonbat, but rather a Dean.

Does it play that way on the West Bank or in Waziristan?

WV "lasea" French for the ocean; 10/5/09, 2:54 PM
Lexington Green said...: He will be lucky to survive a fortnight.; 10/5/09, 3:04 PM
traditionalguy said...: Egypt is not a Camel drivers place like the Arabs from the saudi desert. The Egyptian men love beautiful women, like Cleopatra, and their great Belly Dancers are the most famous women in Cairo and Alexandria.; 10/5/09, 4:11 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "Egypt, Turkey, Iran, India, and KSA are the main "prestige sources" of Islamic scholarship. Many have begun weighing in on matters such as Muslim women functioning in the modern world, how terorism..as opposed to Jihad..is unproductive."

I just (about two weeks ago) got back from a couple weeks in Turkey. My Turkish guide for the trip was very secular (military background) and he was very concerned about the current leadership. One of his many concerns was that many of the top leadership have very covered wives.

So, I'm not sure Turkey is going in the right direction. On the other side (imo) they have seemed closer to reasonable regarding Cyprus and Arminia. And, if things get really bad the military can go ahead and take over again, that seems to work (for a while) over there.; 10/5/09, 6:02 PM
William said...: I wonder if people do not use religion to mask their sexual anxieties. A lot of modernism involves sexual equality. For a man such equality involves a certain amount of anxiety. The wife goes off to work, and she's looking great Or worse, not so great. You see how it goes. Not a problem they had to face in the seventh century.....This whole damn veil thing might revolve around a lot of Islamomachos and their modest brides trying to save face.; 10/5/09, 11:56 PM
Alex said...: He's actually right. The stoning, the hijab comes out of Arab culture, not from Islam. Islam is a product of Arab/Eastern culture rather then the reverse. People have their causality screwed up.; 10/6/09, 12:52 AM
Unknown said...: It's funny how a man who can't keep a proper beard according to sunnah can comment on the head scarf. One is to have knowledge of Islam which many have but another is to practise on that knowledge; 10/7/09, 12:53 AM
CARLOS ZAMPIERE said...: You need Jesus. He love´s you!; 10/8/09, 1:06 PM
Unknown said...: I'm sorry for most of people who talk without reasoning.

One of the best thing one can acquire in life is to get adequate knowledge of what you might lack. It is good "to know something about everything and everything about something".

Though, you might not be a Muslim, but you still need to know understand some concepts about the religion of Islam.

Islam is a religion of peace, and it doesn't accept anything except what is peace.

More so, you have to understand that the religion is not that of a dogmatism that you just follow anything you hear without confirming what is the wisdom behind the deeds or actions.

I also want to make you guys know that you don't need to be blaspheming the religion of others.

We believe in our religion that scholars are likely to make mistakes and errors, but the best of them is he who repents.

I'll get to you another time.

For more information, mail me on wasfas2002@yahoo.com; 10/11/09, 1:51 PM