Mufti Bans Qur’anic Phone Rings

CAIRO, 18 July 2005 — Egypt’s grand mufti, Ali Gomaa, has deemed the use of Qur’anic verses as ringing tones on mobile phones as insulting to Islam, Egyptian newspapers reported yesterday. “Such a use is unacceptable because it trivializes the Holy Book,” the cleric, the highest Egyptian authority on Islamic law, told students in Alexandria. “Therefore it is haram”, or prohibited by Islam, he added. Egyptian newspapers carry scores of advertisements offering downloadable ringing tones ranging from Qur’anic verses to jokes and the latest Arab pop songs.