Sheik of al-Azhar, Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, has surely tossed a bomb into the mass of religious ultra-conservatives in Egypt and the rest of the Islamic world. He intends to ban the wearing of niqab, face veils, in all the schools of Al-Azhar, the second-oldest university in the world and one of the foremost Islamic institution. Asharq Alawsat carries this Associated Press report.

Somehow, I think this will produce a heated reaction, but one different from that following the French ban on veils in classrooms.

Egypt’s Top Cleric Plans Face Veil Ban in Schools

CAIRO, (AP) – Egypt’s top Islamic cleric is planning to ban students wearing the face veil from entering the schools of al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s premier institute of learning, according to an independent daily Monday.

A security official also told The Associated Press that police have standing verbal orders to bar girls covered from head to toe from entering al-Azhar’s institutions, including middle and high schools, as well as the dormitories of several universities in Cairo.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he’s not authorized to speak to the press, said the ban was for security reasons.

The moves appear to be part of a government campaign cracking down on increasingly overt manifestations of ultraconservative Islam in Egypt.
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