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Tunisian President stands up for gender equality in inheritance, Al Azhar objects
16-8-2017
Al Azhar deputy, Sheikh Abbas Shouman, criticized in a statement published yesterday on his official Facebook page, the Tunisian President, Beji Caid Essebsi’s call for gender equality in inheritance. Such calls, Shouman said, are unfair to women and are against Islamic Sharia. He pointed out that inheritance is clearly divided as indicated in verses that cannot accept further jurisdiction and do not change with changing circumstances in time and place. It is one of the few topics exhaustively detailed in the Holy Koran under ‘Surat al Nisa’. Shouman’s comments came in response to Essebsi’s proposal on National Women’s Day to push for establishing gender equality in inheritance and eventually, in all arenas. Al Azhar deputy explained that in some instances women are equal to, and perhaps, surpass men, according to Sharia, which has very wisely taken into consideration the reality on the ground and the need for money of the male or female heir, or his/her affinity with the deceased, disregarding the gender, as alleged by many. Essebsi earlier asked the government to revoke a decree of the year 1973 that prohibits marriage between a non-Muslim man and a Muslim woman. Shouman in his response warned that such called-for marriages are unjust to women. The interfaith marriage, he claimed, has mostly lost the qualities of affection and cohabitation sought by marriage, because the non-Muslim husband does not believe in Islam and therefore, his Muslim wife would hate him for not encouraging or allowing her to perform the rituals of her religion. (Al Hayat, August 16, 2017)
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