Media council bans Abdel Ra’ouf from public appearance

CAIRO - 18 September 2017: The head of the Supreme Media Council on Monday banned senior Al-Azhar professor Sabry Abdel Ra’ouf from appearing on television after issuing a fatwa allowing husbands to have intercourse with their deceased wives.

The Supreme Council for Media Regulation issued the ban after his appearance in a religious program where he issued the controversial fatwa.

“Given the absurdity of Abdel Ra'ouf’s words, the council has to take the decision as the fatwa distorts the image of Islam, and shows no respect for Muslim morals or the rights of the deceased," Makram Mohammed Ahmed, head of the Higher Council for Media Regulation said in a statement on Monday.

Makram added that Islam is clear on issues of human rights and such controversial fatwas cannot be attributed to the teachings of Islam.

Makram has recently noticed a number of bizarre fatwas issued on TV channels which stray very far from the essence of Islam. These fatwas, he said, are used by terrorist groups as well as enemies of Islam as an opportunity to judge Islam.

Abdel Ra’ouf declared it permissible for a husband to have intercourse with his deceased wife, calling it a “farewell intercourse,” while being hosted on a show on LTC channel.

The contentious fatwa sparked anger and elicited many responses among the Egyptian community. The Minister of Religious Endowments called the fatwa “abnormal.”