Battle Of The Clerics: Egypt Versus Saudi Over The Mingling Of The Sexes Death Fatwa

It's rather amusing to see leading clerics from different countries duking it out over stupid fatwas. If some of them weren't so dangerous one could have a good laugh, but there are enough ignorant, psychotic extremist-types out there willing to follow through with some of those death fatwas that it quickly loses its humour. Abdul Rahman al-Barrak, a leading Saudi cleric recently issued a ban against gender mingling and his fatwa also called for death to all who promoted it. Now that might be fine for Saudi Arabia, where they seem to embrace all things backwards and are perfectly content, for the most part, to continue their love affair with the dark ages; but for other countries trying to become a little more enlightened by allowing mingling, albeit with restrictions, his fatwa came as an affront.

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Scholars at Egypt's al-Azhar were outraged at a fatwa issued by Saudi cleric Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak that states that all those who promote the mingling of sexes are apostates that should to be killed.

Barrak's fatwa comes in contradiction to earlier statements by al-Azhar, the world's leading institution of Sunni Islam, that claimed that mixing is permitted within limits.

Islam allows the mixing of men and women as long as it within the limits of decency and respect, said Sheikh Abdul-Hamid al-Atrash, former head of al-Azhar's Fatwa Committee.

"A woman can go out to work as long as she is modestly dressed and will not deal with men in a way that arouses them" he told Al Arabiya. "Indecent mixing is what should be prohibited."

Atrash argued that even if the mixing exceeds the limits allowed by Islam, neither those who do it nor those who promote it should be called apostates nor punished by death.

"It could be considered a sin, but not one that is punishable by death."

Sheikh Ahmed al-Ghamdi, head of the Mecca branch of the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, said the fatwa does not deserve any attention.

"Barrak might have just wanted to stir public opinion," he told Al Arabiya. "That is why I think there is no point in responding to his fatwa. This will just lead to endless arguments that will eventually boil down to nothing."

The problem is he's already said it, and I'm sure there are plenty who probably agree with him. And even though the Egyptian clerics are making some head way with regards to a ridiculous idea to begin with, no mingling of the sexes, they still have a huge way to go. Mingling of the sexes is healthy, and what do they mean by "indecent mingling"? I have many male friends, friend being the operative word, none of whom want to sleep with me and vice versa. It is possible, at least in the west, to have platonic relationships.

And don't these men have better things to do then to sit around and decide what next they want to ban? I think they all need to get a life, or two, although I will admit I would miss having a good laugh at the stupidity of it all.