CAIRO — Amr Hamroush, a member of the Egyptian parliament's Religious Committee, has been calling for action to prevent non-Azharites​ from wearing the distinctive dress of Al-Azhar, a restriction already observed for military and police uniforms. In press statements Dec. 2, several parliament members announced that Hamroush has prepared a bill that is under discussion within the Religious Committee.

The committee's deliberations may lead to the amendment of Law No. 51 of 2014, more strictly enforcing this law as it stands or passing the new law proposed by Hamroush. Possible amendments may include clearly defining the characteristics of Al-Azhar dress, widening the scope of the law to include the dress of Christian religious authorities and increasing the penalties for violations.

Hamroush’s proposal came in response to the actions of Islamic preacher Mohammed Abdul Nasser, who appeared Nov. 21 on Dream TV's talk show “Al-Ashera Masa'an” wearing the uniform of Al-Azhar. In a Nov. 20 Facebook post that was later deleted after harsh criticism, Nasser claimed to be the “awaited Mahdi,” to much derision.

Shawki Abdel-Latif, the first undersecretary at the Ministry of Religious Endowments (Awqaf), responded to Nasser’s words Nov. 20, saying, “Nasser ought to be admitted to a mental hospital.” Latif called Nasser’s statements a desecration of Quranic verses and prophetic narratives and called upon Al-Azhar sheikhs to address them.