© 2010 Rapid TV News
Chris Forrester ©RapidTVNews | 08-02-2010
Some of Egypt’s Islamic leaders have issued a religious Fatwa against social networking site Facebook.
BBC Monitoring is quoting Arab-language newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi saying that some Egyptian religious clerics are calling for Facebook to be a prohibited site.
Shaykh Abd-al-Hamid al-Atrash, the former chairman of the Fatwa Commission in Al-Azhar University, issued a Fatwa on Feb 5 that has aroused “a loud clamour on the Egyptian streets,” according to the newspaper.
Al-Atrash prohibited access to the social networking site Facebook after “the rate of divorces and cases of marital infidelity have risen,” said the newspaper. The former chairman of the Fatwa Commission pointed out that the consequences of accessing Facebook are extremely dangerous to public opinion and to people in general, especially Arab and Muslim peoples that have their own special characteristics. Al-Atrash said that Facebook is a destructive tool since it leads to illicit liaisons, which are banned by Islamic shari'ah law. "While one or the other of the spouses is hard at work, the other is having illicit affairs if he or she has free time and does not spend this time in doing something useful and is not restrained by his or her conscience," Al-Atrash said.
However, Egyptian writer Wahid Hamid believes that Facebook is not an absolute evil or an absolute good. “It has contributed to spreading the works of young innovators who are unable to publish their works in books. It has also contributed to breaching the barriers that dictatorial regimes are seeking to place against opposition activists in order to prevent them from contacting one another,” he was quoted by the newspaper.
In the same context, Ayman Nur, member of the opposition and leader of Al-Ghad [Tomorrow] Party, said that Facebook has helped in bolstering bridges among the public, especially among those concerned with public affairs and activists in the various opposition forces.
Journalist Muhammad Shukr of the Al-Wafd newspaper said that labelling Facebook as a broad tool for marital infidelities is not logical. It has helped in many useful activities. Moreover, anyone seeking prohibited liaisons and is unable to access Facebook can resort to many other ways. Shukr added that Facebook primarily serves social relationships. It also supports opposition activists and creative minds regardless of their inclinations. Thus, issuing a fatwa prohibiting its use serves the dictatorial regimes in the first degree.
Movie producer Khalid Yusuf criticized the prohibition of electronic sites. He said that many such sites, including Facebook, serve the interests of youths. Facebook has contributed to many services activities and is one of the modern methods that spread knowledge and encourage contact among intellectuals regardless of their inclinations. Yusuf pointed out that the fear of worldwide web among some quarters is not justified and cannot be accepted absolutely.
© Rapid TV News 2010
