“Islam has not banned the mingling of sexes,” Kamil said in comments published by Al-Madinah Arabic daily on Wednesday. “It bans a man and woman (who are unrelated) being alone in a place. We have been witnessing men and women doing tawaf around the Holy Kaaba together and this has been taking place since the time of the Prophet (pbuh).”
He urged them to speak against issues that concern the public, such as corruption, bribery and injustice. However, Kamil insisted that women coming to the chamber should wear proper Islamic dress (hijab).
“Hijab is obligatory and we’ll not allow any woman to enter the chamber without wearing the Islamic dress. We have distributed a circular in this respect to all departments,” the chairman said.
Kamil said he had received about 50 letters from imams and judges complaining about the mingling of members of the opposite sex at the chamber.
“We don’t have a single man and a single woman working together in an office and we don’t have businessmen and businesswomen working together in an office. They have different offices,” he explained. “As long as they wear proper Islamic dress what is wrong with women if they work in the chamber or in any other institution?”
Kamil said that while he has received so many letters complaining about men and women working together in a professional environment, “I have not received a single letter about corruption or bribery or injustice.”
He continued: “I believe that bribery is a million times more harmful than the mingling of sexes. There are Qur’anic verses and Sayings of the Prophet that prohibit bribery, but you would not find a single Qur’anic verse banning the mingling of sexes. I am not calling for women to display their charms and I don’t support that. We have to protect our Shariah that has come through divine revelation and the Sunnah. At the same time, we should not take customs and traditions as religion.”
He said Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has called for the protection of women’s rights and increasing job opportunities for women, following the Islamic regulations.
“We have seen that King Abdullah recently honored Saudi scientist Dr. Khawla Al-Kuraya by conferring on her the King Abdul Aziz Medal of the First Order.”
Kamil, who is one of the founders of Islamic banking and finance, urged religious leaders not to embellish Islamic rules.
