CAIRO: Egypt’s leading scholar ordered a student to remove her face veil while was he was visiting an academy linked to the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, an Egyptian newspaper reported on Monday.
Mohammed Tantawi, Azhar’s grand imam, asked the student to take off her niqab, a face veil, when he spotted her in a classroom, the daily Al-Mary Al-Yowm reported, adding that the student complied.
Tantawi reportedly said the niqab was a tradition, not an Islamic obligation.
The newspaper also reported that Minister of Higher Education Hani Hilal decided to ban women wearing the niqab from entering university residences.
Scholars are divided on whether a woman must cover her face, with the majority saying it is not an obligation, but all mainstream scholars agree a woman must cover her hair and her body with loose fitting clothes.
