By Mina Ibrahim
Religious scholars debated the “legality” of participating in the Egyptian parliamentary elections that began Sunday in 14 governorates.
A fatwa is a religious opinion issued by a high profile cleric, upon the request of a concerned individual, or if a preacher believes a certain issue requires clarification or explanation.
Scholars belonging to state run Islamic institutions issued fatwas against those who are planning to boycott elections.
Ahmed Omar Hashem, a member of the Senior Religious Scholars body that is part of Al-Azhar, Egypt’s primary Sunni religious institution, announced that who boycotts the elections is “sinful” according to the Islamic Sharia law.
Furthermore, through a televised interview, Abdullah Al-Naggar, a member of the state run Islamic Research Complex, declared that boycotting elections is similar to abstaining from praying because “voting is an Islamic duty”.
Through a televised speech on Saturday, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi called on Egyptians to cast their votes in the ongoing parliamentary elections.
Al-Sisi said that the upcoming parliament will be an authoritative power to draft the laws needed to complete the constitution.
Shawqy Allam, Egypt’s Grand Mufi, condemned the “politicised fatwas” that seek to religiously outlaw voting in the elections.
Through an official statement, Allam emphasised that these fatwas are “invalid and incompatible”, urging Egyptians to effectively participate in the elections and to ignore the pressures practiced by some political factions.
Earlier, a number of parties and individuals affiliated with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood called for boycotting parliamentary elections, claiming it is only a sham.
Brotherhood figures have been issuing fatwas that participation is religiously forbidden and campaigning against Al-Nour Party for its decision to participate. On the other hand, the Salafist Call, which is the religious arm of Al-Nour Party, believes that participation is the right of citizens.
The parliamentary elections are the third merit of the 30 June mass uprising that ousted former president Mohamed Morsi, and put an end to the the Muslim Brotherhood rule.
These elections are the second to be held post January 2011 uprisings.
The first elections were dissolved in June 2012 upon a court order which considered the elections law unconstitutional.
