Cairo - Egypt's top cleric declared on Sunday that Islam does not bar women
from becoming heads of state, denying press reports that had earlier attributed
to him the opposite position.
On January 27, the flagship state-owned
daily Al-Ahram carried a fatwa by chief mufti Sheikh Ali Gomaa saying that Islam
forbids women from becoming a head of state because it would require them to
lead prayer - something only a man can do.
"This ruling does not refer to
the head of a modern state but to the traditional role of Caliph as both secular
head of state and imam of the Muslims," he said in a statement on Sunday,
referring to a position that was abolished with the fall of the Ottoman empire
in 1924.
"The head of state in a contemporary Muslim society, be he a
president, prime minster or king, is no longer required or expected to lead
Muslims in prayer. Therefore, it is permissible for women to hold the highest
office in modern Muslim nations," he added.
The original fatwa, as
carried in the state owned press, merely said a woman cannot be a "head of
state" without specifying whether this applied to traditional or modern
leadership positions.
Egypt was the first Arab country to give women the
right to vote in 1956. However, increasing conservatism in society over the last
several decades has slowed their progress in the public sphere. - Sapa-AFP
