The appointment of Egypt’s first female that is authorised to conduct Muslim weddings has sparked a debate over the role of women in Islamic institutions. Amal Soliman, 32, last week became the first woman in the Middle East, and possibly the entire Muslim world, to be given the power to authorise marriage and divorce contracts.
The appointment of Egypt’s first female that is authorised to conduct Muslim weddings has sparked a debate over the role of women in Islamic institutions. Amal Soliman, 32, last week became the first woman in the Middle East, and possibly the entire Muslim world, to be given the power to authorise marriage and divorce contracts.
The new appointment has caused religious leaders and Egyptians to question the legality of a woman in the position. Egyptians overwhelmingly appear to be against Soliman’s appointment. “I don’t think it is right.
The Shiekh at my mosque said that it is ‘haram’ (forbidden) so I would never use her for my wedding,” Ibrahim, an Egyptian man in his early 20s, told panapress.
One of the major concerns over Soliman’s appointment is her ability to conduct her duties while menstruating. According to Islamic tradition, a woman is not allowed to pray or read the Qur’an in a mosque during this period.
Soliman told reporters that during her monthly menstruation, she would conduct weddings at the couple’s homes or wedding ceremonies outside the mosque in order to comply with Islamic law. “There are no religious texts banning a Muslim woman from being a maazun,”
Al-Azhar’s deputy director, Sheikh Fawzi Zafzaf, said in a statement. “But when a woman is menstruating she must not enter a mosque or read Koranic verses and that will affect her job, so for this reason we say it is not advisable to have a woman maazun,” he added.
Though Egyptian government officials have praised the decision, the controversy will undoubtedly continue as couples begin to get married under her authority.
Panapress
