The Egyptian Parliament decided to postpone the final approval of the draft law of the Egyptian House of Ifta, a project that Al-Azhar vehemently rejected, and the administrative judiciary reserved it and considered it contrary to the constitution.
Local media quoted parliamentary sources as saying that Majlis Speaker Ali Abdel-Al referred the draft law again to the Religious Affairs and Endowments Committee for study and review of the comments received from the State Council.
Al-Azhar had affirmed its rejection of the new law, stressing that it would create a parallel entity to Al-Azhar's bodies, divide its mission and undermine the competence of its bodies.
Then the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, escalated his position yesterday via a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives requesting to attend the plenary session devoted to discussing the draft law organizing the Fatwa House, in the event that the Council insists on approving this project despite its constitutional anomaly.
The Sheikh of Al-Azhar said that the constitution made Al-Azhar - without others - the main reference in religious sciences and Islamic affairs, and responsible for advocacy and the dissemination of religious sciences and the Arabic language in Egypt and the world, adding, “It is accepted that the legal fatwa is one of the Islamic affairs and religious sciences in which the matter is referred to the supervision of Al-Azhar. Sharif and review it. "
Al-Tayyib clarified - in his speech to the Speaker of Parliament - that it had been indicated in advance through correspondence that Al-Azhar's reservation on the draft law was in contradiction to the text of Article 7 of the constitution, with the existing Al-Azhar law, and with its established powers over hundreds of years.
The bill received a new blow, after the State Council (Administrative Judiciary) announced that by submitting the project to the Council’s Legislation Department, it was found that it violates the Egyptian constitution and explicitly clashes with the text of Article (7) of the Constitution and Law 103 of 1961 regarding the reorganization of Al-Azhar and its bodies.
On the other hand, the head of the Religious Committee in the House of Representatives, Osama Al-Abed, said that the law has not been withdrawn permanently, but will be submitted again to the committee to consider the observations of the State Council.
The House of Representatives had approved, in a previous session, last July, the draft law initially and referred it to the State Council for review, and Al-Azhar Al-Sharif expressed its reservation on the draft law, describing it as creating a parallel entity to Al-Azhar and invalidating its specializations.
As for Representative Ahmed Tantawi, who is considered one of the few most prominent opposition voices in the Egyptian Parliament, he praised the withdrawal of the law before the final vote on it, and congratulated the Egyptians, considering that this represented a failure of this attack on Al-Azhar just as its predecessors failed and its subsequent ones will fail.
The past years have witnessed many disputes and battles between the Sheikh of Al-Azhar and President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, most of which revolved around the so-called renewal of religious discourse, and the attempt by some to hold the heritage responsible for terrorism, as well as other issues such as verbal divorce and whether or not it occurs.
The only authority that Sisi does not possess or fully control is the power to appoint or dismiss the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, thanks to the fortification of the position after relentless efforts led by al-Tayyib in 2012 to approve amendments to some provisions of Law No. 103 of 1961 related to the reorganization of Al-Azhar and the bodies it includes.
Good morning, Egypt:
The Dar al-Ifta law was withdrawn before it was voted on in Sisi's parliament.
Al-Azhar defeats Al-Sisi again and reserves for himself the right of the Islamic fatwa in the country and that the Egyptian Dar Al Iftaa be affiliated with Al-Azhar and not independent of it.
- Omar mohamed Omar Mohamed (@ Aboda72821815) August 24, 2020
A day after the Sheikh of Al-Azhar requested to attend the session
, the law organizing the Dar Al-Iftaa was withdrawn before the final vote on it today. Failed to pass the law, this is a victory for the Sheikh of Al-Azhar https://t.co/A9QR2EXrLl
- Egyptian deterrent 🇪🇬 (@ Rad3Eg) August 24, 2020
May God protect the Grand Imam, Sheikh of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb, God preserve our flower. Praise be to God. The law of the House of Fatwa has been withdrawn from the agenda of the Council before the final vote on it. Praise be to God, may God protect our honorable Azhar pic.twitter.com/Uu2Jg6mLIW
- Ahlam Ahmady (@ahlam_ahmady) August 24, 2020
Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Sheikh of Al-Azhar, sent a letter to the Egyptian Parliament Speaker and his insistence on attending the plenary session to discuss the draft law organizing the Fatwa House Musharraf’s position. The dispute between # Sisi and # Al-Tayyib is both a religious and political dispute, and the Al-Azhar Foundation remains the only institution that Al-Sisi could not control .
- mahmoud gamal (@ mahmoud14gamal) August 24, 2020
May God protect the Grand Imam, Sheikh of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb, God preserve our flower. Praise be to God. The law of the House of Fatwa has been withdrawn from the agenda of the Council before the final vote on it. Praise be to God, may God protect our honorable Azhar pic.twitter.com/Uu2Jg6mLIW
- Ahlam Ahmady (@ahlam_ahmady) August 24, 2020
The Sheikh
of Al- Azhar won the withdrawal of the Dar al-Iftaa law
- mahmoud elfeky (@ mahmoudelfeky0) August 24, 2020