On April 12, 2022, the popular Egyptian daily newspaper and website, al-Masry al-Youm (“the Egyptian Today”), published a fatwa by the Syrian cleric, Sheikh Muhammad Salih Munajjid, under the title, “What Is the Ruling on Selling Food to Infidels during the Daylight [Hours] of Ramadan?”
After offering the usual caveat—that such rulings do not apply to those who are sick, etc.—the fatwa concluded that selling food to those who might eat it during the daylight hours of Ramadan was forbidden, “and there is no difference [in this ruling] between the Muslim and the infidel.”
For supporting evidence, Munajjid quoted the popular Muslim jurist, Abu Zakaria al-Nawawi (b.1233), who wrote that “the true madhab that has been confirmed and agreed upon by the majority is that infidels are addressed by the branches of sharia, so that, what is forbidden to Muslims is forbidden to them.”
Munajjid also quoted Koran 74:42-47, which indicates that, because infidels go to hell for not believing in or following the rules of Islam, they are, therefore, clearly governed by them.
Thus, in the nation of Egypt—where more than ten million Christians, its most indigenous inhabitants, live—al-Masry al-Youm wants to make clear that they, the “infidels,” must also be prevented (by good Muslim grocers) from acquiring food in the daylight hours. (So much for the (Christian) idea that it is only for those who have faith to make sacrifices for their faith.)
While this fatwa ruling is not altogether surprising, what did shock many Egyptians is that al-Masry al-Youm —long seen as a secular, reformist daily newspaper that thrives on exposing and combatting Islamist intolerance—published it. The uproar from its readership, which includes not a few Coptic Christians, was such that hours after its publication, the Egyptian daily deleted the fatwa from its website, suspended the editor responsible for publishing it, and formally apologized. The hardcopy newspaper, however, still carries it (image below).
Despite al-Masry al-Youm’s actions and apology, many Egyptians remain skeptical. As Adel Guindy, a founding member of Coptic Solidarity, and author of the indispensable book, A Sword Over the Nile, observed:
The privately owned paper, long heralded as a flagship for “liberal” ideas (in the old, European sense of the term, not the current American sense meaning “leftist”) was recently taken over by Egypt’s “Deep State” as part of the regime’s frantic efforts to muzzle media and/or turn them into mere mouthpieces. This implies that all published news and opinion articles are carefully scrutinized prior to publishing, more so if it is for the print version. That fatwa is typical of hardline Islamists. For it to be published means that the journalist, the editor, and “censor” saw nothing wrong with it. And that’s precisely the sad part of the story: How the regime views non-Muslims as Kuffar [infidels], with all the ugly connotations that Arabic word carries.
Sounds like a great idea! Thanks Raymond. Good to see Mr Guindy commenting. I have abandoned his book till summer. Stuck in too many other reads that I use for gathering info to comment or engage people with.
I have bumped into algorithms on the Tube recently while commenting.
I mentioned the neo-Marxism of the current Left and also another totalitarian ideology also on the rise besides communism. I did not name the “other one”.
The two sentence line of that mention disappeared from my comment as I posted. Tried it 3 times, disappeared all 3.
Thanks much for your continued reporting, especially from the Arabic world news occasionally.
Stay well
A million thanks from me too Raymond Ibrahim for all your efforts to keep us informed. I’m just re-reading ‘Stealth Invasion’ by Leo Hohmann (pub. 2021), which explains the hatred of Christianity as being “anathema to the globalist elites of most Western nations”. It is “the one bulwark that these [globalist] elites brush up against – traditional Christianity and its Judeo-Christian values” …”the system which led to equal rights for women, freed the slaves of Europe and America” (p. 71). YES, freed the slaves and not only of Europe and America – but which is in the way of globalism, the means by which they intend to try to destroy our national identities and our values by importing hostile aliens which do not assimilate – indeed which will even be encouraged not to assimilate – and adopt values like freedom of speech and equality for women, in order to “try and change the demographic makeup of their [ie. OUR] cities and towns without their [ie. OUR] permission or even notice”.
Strange how they seem to have absorbed the lessons of Islam in trying to change the demographic structure of the countries they invaded, as happened recently in the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus where imports from the mainland have changed the demographic structure of the occupied part of the island – not to mention the Islamic remnants of the hated Ottoman Empire in central Europe, with its mafia of drugs, guns, and, of course, women. With such gurus to learn from is the left eventually going to “forbid the selling of food to those who might eat it during the daylight hours of Ramadan”, exempting them of course, along with freedom of speech (here already) and especially equality for women (who are being raped left right and centre)? Or is their main interest the so-calleda “redistribution of wealth” to fill their pockets and the rest is collateral damage?
These devilish and evil activities by Islam will only end when the Lord returns. In the mean time all I can do is pray daily for persecuted Christians.
Wishing Mr. Ibrahim and all his followers a BLESSED and HAPPY EASTER 🌿🌿
Thank you Tershia. A BLESSED and HAPPY EASTER to you too🌷
Jesus told us that the world will hate us because of him. We are living in the reality of that today all over the world. Christians are the most persecuted people on earth. Meanwhile, persecutions make us stronger. My heart goes out to the persecuted Church globally, especially those in Egypt. My prayers will be with all of you. May the joy of the LORD be your strength in this dark hour of trial in Jesus name. Amen