Cairo -

Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Egypt broke its silence days after broadcasting a controversial episode of the media close to the authority, Amr Adib, on his program “Al-Hekaya” broadcast on the Saudi channel “MBC Egypt”, which he singled out to criticize the views of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb in the case of “wife beating.” By hosting parties opposed to the sheikhdom and not allowing the right of reply to Al-Azhar.

The newspaper, "Voice of Al-Azhar", issued by the sheikhdom of Al-Azhar, in its weekly issue issued every Wednesday, launched a sharp attack on Adeeb, describing him in the title of the file that it allocated to respond as "entertainment mediators."

“The newspaper of professional violations for entertainment media professionals in the case of wife beating,” according to Al-Azhar’s spokeswoman, enumerated the violations committed by Adeeb and summarized them in 12 professional violations, including broadcasting false news about the adoption of beatings by the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, and spreading rumors about Al-Azhar’s standing against the issuance of a law To deter those who do this, as well as conducting a discussion about Al-Azhar without the presence of a representative.

Al-Azhar newspaper also criticized Adeeb’s attempt to distort the opinion of the Grand Imam, ignoring his categorical statement in criminalizing domestic violence, and cutting the context to export an incorrect image of Al-Azhar and its sheikh, noting that Adeeb encouraged domestic violence by suggesting that beating women is currently without legal punishment, and there is Azhar approval for it.

Al-Azhar’s response comes against the background of the statements of the guest of the episode, Islam Al-Buhairi, about a previous opinion of the Sheikh of Al-Azhar about beating women, where the aforementioned guest said that “the words of the Sheikh of Al-Azhar are wrong and against the constitution; there is no such thing as beating with conditions, and the idea of ​​opening the door to beating because the wife responded to her husband creates a state In the jungle and a country that has nothing to do with the Sharia that we are defending against the constitution,” he said.

Al-Buhairi, a researcher famous for stirring controversy on Islamic issues and who previously served a prison sentence for contempt of religion, added that the constitution is stronger than any institution in Egypt, "and stronger than anyone in Egypt, and this is what we know about the civil state," noting that "wife beating even If on conditions it ends."

entertainment media

In his first comment after publishing the response, the editor-in-chief of "Voice of Al-Azhar", Ahmed El-Sawy, said about the newspaper's criticism of the content of one of the episodes of the Amr Adib program, that "the newspaper exercised its right to criticism within the framework of standards and controls ... with a disciplined treatment that suits a newspaper attributed to Al-Azhar Al-Sharif without hinting outside or improper description.

He added in a statement on Sawt Al-Azhar's Facebook page, "We practiced criticism of a specific media practice and not of the person... The description (entertainment) expresses the predominant type of content it provides... We wanted to confirm that what works in preparing (entertainment) content and the excitement it contains cannot be used." content on religious discourse.

Referring to Al-Azhar's failure to get involved in a crisis with Saudi Arabia over Adeeb's description of the entertainment media, he said, "We confirmed that the transgression was professional and individual... and it cannot be linked to any further circles inside or outside," noting that "Al-Azhar is not above criticism. But we do not accept slander and falsehood by exporting an incorrect case in a media industry based on accurate information.”

Al-Sawy questioned the role of media organizations, asking them to "activate their role in setting the standards and controls for discussing religious affairs on screens with respect and in a scientific framework...without restricting the right to disagree, there is a sports broadcaster who was arrested and investigated for accusing him of insulting Al-Ahly Club...and what we ask for." It is nothing but specific controls to respect the entities that every Egyptian is proud of."

The origin of the crisis

The controversy over wife-beating has returned to the fore again after re-talking about the proposal to toughen the penalty for wife-beating in Egyptian law, which a member of the House of Representatives called Amal Salama announced its proposal in the next stage, and the communication sites and media witnessed a wide interaction between supporters and opponents, as the controversy extended. To include criticism and an attack on the Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb.

Salameh proposes amending Articles 242 and 243 of the Penal Code, to include toughening the penalty for physical assault by either spouse on the other, to become imprisonment for a period of no less than two years and not more than 3 years.

The Voice of Al-Azhar newspaper documents violations by the "entertainment" media against the Grand Imam # Sheikh_Al-Azhar intentionally and deliberately pic.twitter.com/h5mXsqvh3M

— Samir Al-Alaraki (@s_alaraki) February 8, 2022

Editor-in-chief of Sawt Al-Azhar: When one of the media outlets offended Al-Ahly Club, he was stopped and investigated. He refers to a comparison with Amr Adib’s insult to Al-Azhar. Egypt is not governed by law or dignity

— Jamal Sultan (@GamalSultan1) February 9, 2022

What is the truth about Al-Azhar's opinion of beating women?

The newspaper "Voice of Al-Azhar" indicates that Al-Azhar's opinion on the issue of wife beating is clear in the statement of the Islamic Research Academy (a body affiliated with Al-Azhar), where it confirmed that wife-beating is prohibited by origin, and this outrageous behavior must be prevented, because it is not permissible to resort to beating except If it is imposed by the necessity of saving the family from being lost because of the wife’s disobedience and contempt for her husband by being superior to him and transgressing his rights, then his permissibility in that case would be a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils and the lesser of two evils.

The statement clarified, according to what was reported by the government newspaper Al-Ahram, that if some people misuse what is permissible in this country and others and use it in a state of disobedience without fulfilling its conditions or anticipating its consequences, then the guardian has the right to restrict the use of this permissible, and it is possible that The issue of beating is generally raised as a general social issue, not only for the disobedient wife, but absolutely, because beating is an insult that causes a person a psychological contract that may not leave him until he enters his grave.

The Voice of Al-Azhar newspaper wiped the earth with ease and calm with Amr Adib

— Mostafa Ghandy 🇵🇸 (@ghandymostafa1) February 8, 2022

The Voice of Al-Azhar newspaper launched a major attack on the media Amr Adib because of the distortion of the words of Sheikh Al-Azhar 🇪🇬 pic.twitter.com/Y1wTzbDgAs

— Dr Abd Fattah khalil 🇪🇬🇪🇬🇪🇬 (@FattahDra) February 9, 2022

In turn, the member of the Board of Trustees of the International Union of Muslim Scholars and the deputy of the religious committee in the former Egyptian parliament, Dr. Muhammad Al-Saghir, attacked what he described as a systematic attack on Al-Azhar, saying, “As for the current era, it has shown that there is a systematic plan to undermine the position of the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, and to clash with the eminence of the imam, and Kabir takes over That is the idiots of the media about whom the knowledgeable and the ignorant know that they do not shrug their heads, and do not act on their own.”

The Sheikh added, in an article published on Al-Jazeera Mubasher, that the main reason for this is due to the Sheikh of Al-Azhar’s distance from the major institution from engaging in political affairs, and trying to preserve Al-Azhar Al-Sharif away from its quarrels, so his position was considered as taking over on the day of the march, within the framework of a policy: As long as you do not drum me..you are my enemy!

Al-Azhar's response, through its newspaper, which spoke in its name, received wide, supportive reactions - mostly - on the Egyptian and Arab social networking sites.

The newspaper "Voice of Al-Azhar" launched a thundering attack on Amr Adib, after he attacked the Sheikh of Al-Azhar in connection with the case of "wife beating".

The response stopped at 12 professional violations committed by the "Entertainment Media";

as described.

Targeting Al-Azhar is part of a larger attack on religion and its manifestations.

An attack that does not express daring, but rather is a response to an atmosphere that encourages it.

pic.twitter.com/U7d3YtjZL7

— Yasser Al-Zaatreh (@YZaatreh) February 9, 2022

Al-Azhar’s voice responds to the entertainment media 🌷 pic.twitter.com/5NrcsZ7X27

- Dr.

Sultan Al-Harbi (@s_alharbi2020) February 9, 2022

Al-Azhar Foundation officially responds to #Amr_Adeeb in a special issue of Voice of Al-Azhar today, Wednesday.

— Bakr Khallav |

Abu Bakr Khallaf (@bakr_khallaf) February 9, 2022