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Al-Ahram Weekly 25 February - 3 March 1999 Issue No. 418 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 25 February - 3 March 1999 Issue No. 418
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Tantawi's opponents go to court
By Mona El-Nahhas
The Abdin Misdemeanours Court, for administrative reasons, has referred a lawsuit filed against Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, to another circuit and delayed hearings until 30 March. The suit, which was brought by Sheikh Yehia Ismail, former secretary-general of the dissolved Al-Azhar Scholars Front, claims that Tantawi libelled Ismail in several newspapers.
Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi
The plaintiff has nominated as witnesses senior Islamic figures, including Sheikh Nasr Farid Wassel, the Grand Mufti of the Republic, and Ahmed Omar Hashem, president of Al-Azhar University.
Tantawi, however, has said that he has not been notified of the case. "I have no idea about such a suit," he told Al-Ahram Weekly. Raga'i Attiya, Tantawi's lawyer, declined to comment, saying that the Grand Imam has not been officially informed of the suit. But Ismail's lawyer, Abdel-Halim Ramadan, insisted that Tantawi had been notified and vowed not to give up until his client's rights were met. Ismail is seeking "rehabilitation" for the image of the Front, which, he claims, the Grand Imam tarnished. "The people should know who is right and who is wrong," he said.
Ismail also claims the dean of the faculty in which he works, the Faculty of Fundamentals of Religion, and a number of professors submitted a memorandum to the president of the university calling for Ismail's dismissal. "They did this to gain the Imam's approval, but their request was shelved because nobody can fire me without a court order," Ismail said.
Abdel-Moneim El-Berri, a professor in the same faculty, claimed that he has been "persecuted" for daring to oppose some of Tantawi's policies. He previously appeared before a disciplinary board for alleged administrative violations. "Investigators found nothing against me, but they are afraid of closing the investigation file," he said.
Relations between the Front and Tantawi became tense shortly before the latter was appointed Grand Imam. The Front's scholars opposed the appointment on the grounds that Tantawi accepts that earning interest on bank deposits is not un-Islamic. The Front, however, defines it as usury.
The confrontation escalated in November 1997 after Tantawi met with an Israeli rabbi. The Front also opposed a new law for developing education at Al-Azhar, sponsored by Tantawi, because it reduced the curriculum. Last June, the governor of Cairo ordered the Front to be dissolved after Tantawi submitted a memorandum.
But the quarrel did not end there: four months ago, the American film The Devil's Advocate triggered the ire of Ismail and his colleagues after it was shown in a number of cinema houses in Cairo. Ismail took Tantawi to task for "allowing" the screening of a film he described as atheistic and blasphemous. Tantawi argued that it was not up to him whether or not films were screened but the responsibility of the chief censor. The Grand Imam also filed a complaint with the prosecutor-general, accusing Ismail of libel, which was later referred to a Cairo criminal court. Ismail then filed a counter-suit with the Abdin Misdemeanours Court.
Ahmed Bahgat, an authority on Islamic affairs, criticised the decision of both parties to settle the matter through the courts. "It's unacceptable that men of religion go to courts because they have different views," he said. "Any differences can be settled by a peaceful dialogue."
Bahgat concluded by lamenting the fact that not enough people in Egypt listen to another's point of view.
