The Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb sent a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Ali Abdel-Al, requesting that he attend the plenary session held to discuss the draft law organizing the House of Ifta, in the event that he insists on adopting this bill despite its constitutional impasse.
According to the official account of Al-Azhar on the communication sites, the request to attend comes "in fulfillment of the trust that God Almighty gave to the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, and to present Al-Azhar's vision in that project, whose approval would create a parallel entity to Al-Azhar's bodies, fragment its message and undermine the competencies of its bodies."
Today, Sunday, 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 spreading the religious sciences and the Arabic language in Egypt and the world, adding, “It is accepted that the legal fatwa is from Islamic affairs and religious sciences in which the matter is referred. For Al-Azhar's supervision and review. "
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.
His Eminence, Imam Al-Akbar, Prof. Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayyib, Sheikh Al-Azhar, today, Sunday, sent a letter to Dr. Ali Abdel-Al, Chairman of the Council of Representatives, requesting that he attend the plenary session to discuss the draft law organizing the House of Ifta - if this project is insisted on adopting this project despite its anomaly Constitutional - pic.twitter.com/8j60uuFpvf
- Al-Azhar Al-Sharif (@AlAzhar) August 23, 2020
On July 19, the House of Representatives approved - in principle - to amend the law organizing the Dar al-Ifta, which 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 parliamentarians and the representative of Al-Azhar, as it affects 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 vote.
On the other hand, the law establishes a different mechanism that stops the authority of the Council of Senior Scholars when selecting 3 candidates for the position from within or from outside the Commission, then submits its nominations to the President of the Republic, who was granted by the law absolute power to choose from among the three candidates, and it also granted him the right to extend the Mufti after Be of legal age.
In his speech to the House of Representatives, the Sheikh of Al-Azhar attached the opinion of the Senior Scholars Council on the draft law, as well as the copy of the report circulated by the Legislative Department of the State Council (Administrative Judiciary), in which it ended in the law's clear violation of the provisions of the constitution, and its contradiction with the constitutional and legal competencies of Al-Azhar.
Three days ago, the State Council decided that the draft law contravenes the Egyptian constitution, which stipulates in its seventh article that “Al-Azhar is an independent, scholarly Islamic organization that is exclusively competent to do all of its affairs. It is the main reference in religious sciences and Islamic affairs, and is responsible for advocacy and publication Science of Religion and the Arabic Language in Egypt and the World.
He explained that the constitution stipulated that Al-Azhar is the "primary reference", which makes Al-Azhar the ending to which all fatwas of Dar al-Ifta must be referred, considering it an applied aspect of religious sciences and Islamic affairs, as well as one of the tools for disseminating religious sciences in Egypt and the world, and this is It is the same as Al-Azhar.
The report stressed that it is constitutionally and legally unpleasant for the ordinary legislator to bring in a tool less than the constitution in order to impede the jurisdiction specified by the constitution for the noble Al-Azhar, and entrust it to another party and body.
Opponents believe that the law comes in light of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's attempts to control Al-Azhar, and his continuing battles with the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, some of which were live, such as disagreements over the issue of verbal divorce and the renewal of heritage.
The law was presented by Representative Osama al-Abed and others described as supporters of the regime, and the joint committee of the Religious Affairs and Endowments Committees, the Plan and Budget, and Constitutional Affairs in the House of Representatives confirmed - in a previous report - that the draft law aims to reorganize the Fatwa House and grant it an independent legal personality and independence, according to local media .
The draft law aims to reorganize everything related to the mufti in terms of: his employment status, procedures for his appointment and selection, the duration of his tenure, renewal of his position, his powers and competencies, and whoever acts on his behalf in running the affairs of the house in general in certain situations.