A strong shock that the Egyptian Dar Al Ifta has received on social media, may reveal the Egyptians' loss of confidence in the official religious establishment.
On its official Facebook page, Dar Al Iftaa surveyed the opinion of Egyptians on the place to which they seek a fatwa, and it gave them the choice between the Google search engine and the Dar Al Ifta website.
The answer was shocking, as the survey revealed that about 70% of the respondents go to Google to answer their religious questions and request a fatwa, noting that this percentage was more than 17 hours after the 24-hour survey.
The pioneers of the communication sites said that there are several reasons behind the loss of confidence in Dar Al Ifta, on top of which is the "politicization of the fatwa," according to their description.
While commenting on the poll, others said that free research enables them to identify all opinions without intellectual or political biases, which is unlike what Dar Al Iftaa does, which provides a fatwa that serves the Egyptian regime, and engages with issues raised according to the regime's vision and its priorities.
The results of the poll and the comments of the pioneers of the communication sites, Mohamed Al-Sagheer, a former advisor to the Minister of Endowments, considered it evidence of the Egyptians ’lack of confidence in Dar Al Ifta.
The former consultant expressed his sorrow for what happened to the Dar al-Ifta, which was "the place of the traveler, and the place of the most senior scholars such as Imam Muhammad Abdo, Hassan Maamoun and Hassan Makhlouf."
A questionnaire was placed by the Egyptian Dar Al Iftaa on its official page. The large majority were in favor of Google’s fatwas, and the reason appeared in the comments of the participants who said: We do not trust you!
This is the case with the Dar al-Ifta, which was the place of travel, and the place of senior scholars such as Imam Muhammad Abdo, Hassan Ma'mun, and Hassan Makhlouf, for example. pic.twitter.com/Kthc96GyQR
- Dr. Mohamed Al Sagheer (@drassagheer) August 13, 2020
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha calamity of people's confidence in official religious institutions has become less than zero
- Ibn al-Rashid (@ Mah_767) August 13, 2020
Shocking response to the Egyptian Dar Al Iftaa after a referendum conducted on its Facebook page,
what is your comment ?! pic.twitter.com/rJLsCCaLMr
- Complementing - News (@mek_news) August 13, 2020
Despite the responsibility of the Egyptian Dar Al Iftaa for the religious fatwa and the answer to the legitimate questions of Egyptians, since the military coup led by then Minister of Defense Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi (the current president) in the summer of 2013, it has been very active in issuing fatwas and publishing research and studies in support of Sisi and justifying his positions. A constant target for mocking social media.
And it has moved from mere defense and justification to attacking the opponents and opponents of the Egyptian president, not only at home, but has crammed itself into international and regional crises in line with Sisi's whim, so Turkey - especially its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan - has become a permanent target of the Egyptian Dar al-Ifta fire.
The most recent crisis of Dar al-Ifta in which it was involved in defense of Sisi was its description of the Islamic conquest of Constantinople (Istanbul) with the Ottoman occupation, in an attempt to attack Erdogan, to return to adjust its position under pressure and ridicule on communication sites.
It was also preoccupied with attacking Turkish dramas, and they were considered weapons used by Turkish President Erdogan to dominate the Middle East region, and he wants the return of the Ottoman Empire again.
On the other hand, Dar Al Iftaa praised Egyptian dramas that are glorified by the Egyptian army, such as the series The Choice, which was shown last Ramadan.
Last month, the House of Representatives approved the amendment of the Dar al-Iftaa law to allow al-Sisi to choose the mufti, as the law stipulates that it is subordinate to the Council of Ministers instead of the Ministry of Justice, and to consider it an independent religious entity, which was rejected by some MPs and the representative of Al-Azhar as it undermines the independence of Al-Azhar.
The law ends the method adopted in 2012 during the era of the late President Mohamed Morsi, which provides for the Mufti to be elected through direct secret ballot, in which members of the Council of Senior Scholars, chaired by the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, vote.
On the other hand, the law establishes a different mechanism that stops the authority of the Council of Senior Scholars when selecting three candidates for the position from within or from outside the Commission, and then submits these nominations to the President of the Republic, who was granted by law absolute power to choose from among the three candidates, and it also granted him the right to extend the Mufti after he Of legal age.