Fatwas of an Egyptian Grand Mufti- 9/11,Suicide bombing , Hijab in Paris schools & more @b

Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi (also referred to as Tantawy, Arabic: محمد سيد طنطاوى‎) (28 October 1928 – 10 March 2010) was the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Mosque and Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar University died in Jeddah , Saudi Arabia and burried in Medinah .

Charging interest on loans

In 1989 the Egyptian government's support for Western-style, interest-based banks (long considered anathema by Muslim scholars as usury, or riba) was under siege by the expanding Islamic finance movement. In response to a government request for a ruling, Tantawy (then Grand Mufti of Egypt) issued a fatwa that described some forms of financial interest as tolerable- among them, those paid by government bonds and those on ordinary savings accounts. He declared that charging interest on such bank loans was in fact ribh, or just gaining profit, which was allowable. This eventually allowed the development of a mortgage industry. However, his ruling did not issue as an effectual decree. Tantawy’s rationale was based on an interpretation of the Islamic sources as banning usury (an extreme and manipulative form of interest-taking) but not any and all comparable forms of gain.

Islamic veil controversy in France

During the controversy of the French headscarf ban in schools, he issued a fatwa allowing Muslim girls to take off their headscarves while attending school, using the lesser of two evils principle.

Abortion

He issued a fatwa which allowed abortion in cases where a woman had become pregnant as a result of rape, though this created controversy and Mufti Ali Gomaa said Tantawy was wrong, and that irrespective of how the life was created, after 120 days an abortion becomes haram, (forbidden).

Female circumcision

Tantawy opposed female circumcision calling it un-Islamic, especially in 1997, when he said "The ulema (theologians) of Islam are unanimous in agreeing that female circumcision has nothing to do with religion" and revealed his own daughter had not been circumcised.

Suicide bombings

Tantawy took a line against suicide bombings, and unlike his compatriot Yusuf al-Qaradawi, he condemned the use of suicide bombings against Israelis, rejecting the argument that all Israelis were legitimate targets, because at some stage they would all carry a gun. In 2003 he called suicide bombers "enemies of Islam", adding "people of different beliefs should co-operate and not get into senseless conflicts and animosity. Extremism is the enemy of Islam, whereas, jihad is allowed in Islam to defend one's land and to help the oppressed. The difference between jihad in Islam and extremism is like the earth and the sky".

Women imams

Tantawi took an orthodox stance on women's place in Islam, opposing women as Imams in mixed congregations during Friday prayers (Jumu'ah), saying when a woman "leads men in prayer … it is not proper for them to look at the woman whose body is in front of them". In 2001 he issued a fatwa banning women from acting as surrogate mothers or from receiving frozen sperm from dead husbands.

Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy

In response to the Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy in the Regensburg lecture, he stated "We have no objection if the Pope holds another speech and declares publicly that what the Byzantine emperor had said was wrong. At the same time, the Pope has to apologize frankly and justify what he said".

Reaction to 9/11

Speaking after the September 11 attacks, Tantawy said "It's not courage in any way to kill an innocent person, or to kill thousands of people, including men and women and children." He said that Osama bin Laden's call for a Jihad against the west was "invalid and not binding on Muslims", adding "Killing innocent civilians is a horrific, hideous act that no religion can approve". He said the Quran "specifically forbids the kinds of things the Taliban and al-Qaida are guilty of".

Egyptian Niqāb controversy

In October 2009, Tantawy launched a c