Can Egypt’s Al-Azhar fight extremism through 'e-fatwas'?
Al-Azhar Fatwa Global Center launched a new website to answer questions about fatwas in a bid to fight extremist thought, which analysts believe is a far-fetched goal.
CAIRO — Al-Azhar Fatwa Global Center has received dozens of fatwa inquiries since it launched “Ask Al-Azhar,” in cooperation with the Youm7 website, on Aug. 26. The aim is to answer fatwa-related questions for the first time through live electronic broadcast.
Youm7, one of the most popular news websites in Egypt, has an icon on its website for the service and promoted it on its official social media page to attract thousands of users.
Al-Azhar Fatwa Global Center boosted its electronic fatwa activity by taking several measures on the day the service was launched, such as posting a fatwa form on its official website, providing a hotline and announcing a Sept. 11 training session for those interested in working at the center’s fatwa department.
Al-Azhar Fatwa Global Center was established in November 2016 based on a decision from Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb to detect extremist fatwas online and to respond to them. The center serves as a platform for communication for those who want to know about fatwas from Al-Azhar online. Around 300 researchers and clerics work there.
