Thursday, December 24, 2009 CAIRO: Prominent religious leaders say social habit of wearing niqabs has no roots in Islamic law. 'Any girl is free to wear the niqab as long as she understands that when asked to reveal her face she should do so accordingly,' sheikh says Egypt's three most prominent religious leaders have backed a government ban on the niqab, or full face veil, in dormitories and examinations, saying it had no basis in Islam. In October, Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, the head of al-Azhar, a major seat of Islamic learning, issued a religious edict barring the niqab in Azhar-run all-girl schools and in dormitories. The minister of higher education subsequently banned it in university examinations. "Al Azhar is not against the niqab but against its misuse," the government-run al-Akhbar newspaper cited Tantawi on Tuesday as saying. He said it was a social habit that had no roots in sharia (Islamic law). Earlier this week, Tantawi joined Mufti Ali Gomaa, ...
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