CAIRO // Two months after the head of Al Azhar, one of the world's premier institutes of Sunni thought, told a 12-year-old pupil to take off her niqab in one of the institute's middle schools, the repercussions of banning the Islamic veil that obscures the face continue.
Last week, hundreds of Cairo University students held a three-day protest over a decision by the Higher Council for Universities barring them from attending midyear exams unless they show their faces.
The protesters held banners reading "Anything but my veil and my niqab" and "Where is personal freedom?"
In another development in the dispute last week, Cairo University announced it would prevent teachers wearing the niqab from delivering lectures or supervising exams.
Hany Helal, the higher education minister, said the decision, which was taken by the Higher Council for Universities in November but announced last week, will be applied in all universities across the country.
The latest developments come in a dispute that cuts to the heart of a growing gulf in Egyptian society between those concerned about the continuing rise of religious conservatism and those who believe Egypt has yielded for too long to western secularism.
Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, who is appointed by the president, went on to ban the niqab in Al Azhar classrooms and dormitories after he asked the 12-year-old to remove her niqab. The ban has since sparked outrage.
Religious scholars have defended themselves and tried to explain their stance on the niqab.
Shortly after the classroom incident, Sheikh Tantawi explained that he was only against the use of the niqab in women-only gatherings.
Like many controversial issues in Egypt, those on either side of the niqab row have resorted to the judiciary.
The Islamist lawyer, Nizar Ghorab, has filed a case on behalf of 12 niqab-wearing university students with the Administrative Court, against Mr Helal and Sheikh Tantawi, several heads of universities, the Grand Mufti and the minister of religious affairs, Mohammed Hamdi Zaqzouq.
In his lawsuit, Mr Ghorab said he was suing "the official religious institutions because they ignited the war on the niqab, first when the ministry of religious affairs printed thousands of copies of a booklet entitled Niqab is a Habit not Ritual, and then in the Sheikh of Al Azhar's anti-niqab stance".
Mr Ghorab said in an interview: "Covering the face and the hands of the Muslim woman is not a religious duty, but it falls into the realm of being sanctioned by religion and allowed by the constitution. Therefore, the niqab can't be banned completely because that would violate personal freedom as guaranteed by the constitution."
Shortly after the Sheikh Tantawi incident, Mr Zaqzouq wrote in the state-owned Al Ahram newspaper: "At a time when newspapers are reporting that four women from America, Germany and Israel have won Nobel prizes, we are busy with a heated battle about niqab, in which we reduced Islam into a piece of cloth that covers the woman's face, erases her personality, and makes her lose communication with the society, which is a grave injustice to Islam and women, and is dragging women back to Jaheliya, pre-Islamic era."
A group of niqab-wearing students issued a statement last week following the decision to ban niqab-wearers attending exams calling on religious authorities and the government to "lift the oppression that fell on us" and demanding that "those who issued this unjust decision make special exam rooms for female students with female supervisors, and to be searched by female officers to make sure of our identity".
About 90 per cent of Muslim Egyptian women are veiled, although only a small minority don the full face veil.
Egypt keeps newscasters who wear head scarves off its TV stations; the wife of the president Hosni Mubarak, Suzanne, and most female officials do not wear either the headscarf or the face veil.
Head scarves and the niqab fell out of favour among Egyptian women in the 1920s and 1930s but began reappearing in the 1970s and 1980s. The evolution has been steady with more women covering their hair each year and more also wearing black body cloaks and lately covering their faces, except for the eyes.
The debate over hijab and niqab have been simmering in recent years.
"Human communication is not complete without seeing the face," renowned novelist Alaa al Aswany wrote recently. "In the aftermath of 1919 revolution against the British occupation, the pioneer women activist Hoda Shaarawi, shed her Turkish burqa in a general celebration, in an indication that the liberation of the country can't be separated from women's liberation.
"The niqab comeback to Egypt requires objective discussion, which is not easy, because the niqab supporters are usually fanatics who rush to accuse those who disagree with them of spreading immorality and nudity," added Mr al Aswany.
In January, a Cairo court will hear a case filed by several women activists against Safwat Hegazy, a fanatic Satellite preacher, who recently said that "munaqabat [niqab wearers] should ignore calls for taking off their face veil" and described as "whores" the women who are not veiled or wearing niqab.
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The specs
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Australia men's Test cricket fixtures 2021/22
One-off Test v Afghanistan:
Nov 27-Dec 1: Blundstone Arena, Hobart
The Ashes v England:
Dec 8-12: 1st Test, Gabba, Brisbane
Dec 16-20: 2nd Test, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (day/night)
Dec 26-30: 3rd Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Jan 5-9, 2022: 4th Test, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Jan 14-18: 5th Test, Optus Stadium, Perth
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
COMPANY PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
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