BBC reports the top Egyptian Islamic scholar, named Mufti, has issued a decree against statues. That's a bit problematic in Egypt. There's a larger concern, however.

The fatwa raised an outcry, with many critics saying they are surprised the issue has been raised at all. But these days Egyptians are increasingly seeking religious rulings on all aspects of life. Fatwas are proliferating in the newspapers, on the internet and on satellite channels...Egyptian society is witnessing a huge explosion in demand for fatwas. It was a member of the public who asked the Mufti about Islam's position on statues. "This reflects the rising religiosity in Egyptian society," said Mohamed al-Sayed Said of the al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. He says the European models of progress which guided Egyptian society in the 19th and 20th Centuries have now been eclipsed by the rise of religion. "There's been really a big retreat to the distant past," he said. "What we are having at this point is an increasing gulf between secular and religious cultures."

The issue is not the growing religiosity itself, but the micro-management of daily affairs issued by authorities to fatwa-seeking believers. With respect to the earthly, religion ought to impart bedrock values for living one's life, not a series of niggling and censorious prohibitions. The proliferation of fatwas in Egypt - not to mention the far more worrisome developments in Iran - reveal a face of Islam increasingly untethered from reality, and common sense.

As for Egypt's way forward, it may be that the increasing faith placed in backward-looking clerics is a reflection of eroded trust in the nation's government and the economy. More from BBC.

Analysts argue that many factors, other than religiosity, have contributed to the rise of the Brotherhood. These include political repression, the dismal economic performance of successive governments and general unease about the alliance with the United States. They say that the severe restrictions on political activity in the last 50 years have left the mosques and religiously inspired charity work as the only areas where grassroots opposition to the regime could develop. "Egypt's future will not be determined by religious or cultural factors. But if the country continues to fail economically and politically, political Islam will become the prevalent ideology," said Mr Said. "But I'm inclined to think that we still have a chance to evade the prospects of an Islamist takeover if we achieve better in the economy and certainly in relation to political and civic liberties."

An independent judiciary and promised local elections would be a good start in the governmental sphere.

TECHNORATI TAGS: EGYPT, FATWA, STATUE BAN, ISLAM, GOVERNMENT, ECONOMY, JUDICIARY, ELECTIONS

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at May 23, 2006 02:47 PM

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