In its issue of today, Al Akhbar newspaper featured Asmaa Kaftaro, granddaughter of deceased mufti of Syria and member of the Women’s Advisory Board to UN Special Envoy, Staffan de Mistura. Kaftaro, Al Akhbar wrote, has not engaged in controversial political matters or been active in opposition action which prevented her from returning to her homeland. Kaftaro is simply the wife of the opposition figure, former MP and Islamic scholar, Mohamad Habash, the newspaper said. In the course of any debate, Kaftaro insists on detaching her political standpoint from that of her husband, making clear that, despite her involvement in Islamic da'wah, she does not believe a woman should follow her husband’s political affiliation. Guardianship is not exclusive to men according to Islam, Asmaa said, which explains her rivalry with her husband in educational achievement and family descent. Kaftaro criticized religious scholars who encroach on politics, questioning the social, women specific and political accomplishments of Dar al Ifta’a in this respect. Al Akhbar also mentioned Kaftaro’s lambasting of so-called ‘qubaisiyat’ (a feminist da’wah group) and their suspicious religious and social activities, decrying their occupation of sensitive public posts, namely in the ministries of Awkaf, social affairs and education. In conclusion, Kaftaro disclosed to Al Akhbar that she expects good from the Moslem woman and from her nation in general, spelling out her support to the abolition of the Awkaf department and its merger with the finance ministry. She proposed the establishment of an alternative ministry for religious affairs or its merger with Dar al Ifta. (Al Akhbar, July 21, 2017)