38 Facts About Ali Gomaa

Ali Gomaa is an Egyptian Islamic scholar, jurist, and public figure who has taken a number of controversial political stances.

Ali Gomaa follows the Shafi`i school of Islamic jurisprudence and the Ash'ari school of tenets of faith.

Ali Gomaa served as the eighteenth Grand Mufti of Egypt through Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah succeeding Ahmed el-Tayeb.

Ali Gomaa was succeeded as Grand Mufti by Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam in February 2013.

Ali Gomaa was born in the Upper Egyptian province of Beni Suef on 3 March 1952.

Ali Gomaa graduated from high school in 1969, at which point he enrolled at Ain Shams University in Egypt's capital, Cairo.

Ali Gomaa's father was a lawyer, who he states was a very great inspiration to him.

Ali Gomaa used to address police officers and judges quite confidently.

An article in The Atlantic states: When he became the khatib, or orator, of Masgid Sultan Hassan, a mosque long favored by devout Cairenes, Ali Gomaa began to attract a following of another kind.

Wahhabi extremists had no choice but to keep quiet; any public criticism of Ali Gomaa would have jeopardized their credibility on the Egyptian street.

Ali Gomaa was appointed Grand Mufti in late September 2003.

Ali Gomaa's office, the Dar al Ifta, a government agency charged with issuing religious legal opinions on any question to Muslims who ask for them, issued some 5,000 fatwas a week, including both official ones, which he would personally work on, about important issues and more routine ones handled via phone and Internet by a dozen or so subordinate muftis.

Since taking office, Ali Gomaa issued a number of fatwas and statements that have made an impact in the media.

Ali Gomaa has issued a fatwa asserting that men and women enjoy equal political rights in Islam, including the right to become president of a modern state.

Ali Gomaa recently stated on national television that it is permissible in Islam for a woman to have hymen restoration surgery for any reason since Islam promotes protecting one's privacy and reputation and does not require a woman to provide proof of her virginity.

Ali Gomaa has asserted that women are the spiritual equals of men, which he says is repeated in the Quran and words of the Prophet Muhammad.

Ali Gomaa has asserted that women have the right to divorce their husbands.

Ali Gomaa has stated that the hijab is obligatory, but that woman who do not wear it are committing a minor sin as opposed to a major sin.

Ali Gomaa asserted that this is something known amongst the scholars, and that the only people who consider it a major sin are those not rooted in knowledge.

Ali Gomaa stated that missing the prayer is a major sin, and that the sin of not wearing hijab pales in relation to the obligation of prayer.

In responding to a modernist who said that covering hair is not mandatory for women, Ali Gomaa responded that the modernist had misunderstood the words of 19th century Egyptian scholar, Qasim Amin.

Ali Gomaa has stated that it is known that is not permissible for a woman to cover her face, and that Salafists use this as a pretext to control and declare faithless other Muslims.

Ali Gomaa is a signatory of the Amman Message, which gives a broad foundation for defining Muslim orthodoxy, unequivocally states that nobody has the right to excommunicate a Muslim, and it restricts the issuing of fatwas to those with the scholarly qualifications to do so.

Ali Gomaa has publicly asserted that the anti-Semitic The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a forgery and made an official court complaint concerning a publisher who falsely put his name on an introduction to its Arabic translation.

Ali Gomaa has taken a very clear stance against extremist interpretations of Islam.

Ali Gomaa stated as proof of his claim that in the video published by ISIS, Al-Kasabeh stands still while being burned, something that would seem impossible.

Ali Gomaa is on record deploring the Taliban's destruction of the great Buddhist statuary in Afghanistan.

Dr Ali Gomaa made several public statements in relation to the massive uprising that began on 25 January 2011 and led to the stepping down of former Egyptian President Mubarak on 11 February 2011.

Ali Gomaa was clear that public protest to address grievances is a fundamental human right, but cautioned that mass demonstrations leading to a disruption of day-to-day life could be considered impermissible from an Islamic legal point of view.

On 3 February 2011, Ali Gomaa went on national TV to answer "hundreds of calls he received that day" with concerns about attending Friday prayer services.

Ali Gomaa issued a fatwa allowing people who feared physical harm from further mass protests to pray at home and not attend Friday prayer services.

On 20 July 2012, Ali Gomaa held a national press conference to announce the start of the holy month of Ramadan and announced the month in the name of Egypt's new president.

In March 2013, Ali Gomaa retired from his position of Grand Mufti of Egypt, and Dr Shawqi Allam became Egypt's new Grand Mufti.

Ali Gomaa stated that since Egypt is a very religious society, "it is inevitable that Islam will have a place in our democratic political order".

Ali Gomaa stated that there was no contradiction between Articles 2 and 7 of the constitution, the former saying that Islam was the official religion of the state and that legislation was based on principles of Islamic jurisprudence, the latter guaranteeing full citizenship before the law to members of Egyptian society regardless of religion, race or creed.

Ali Gomaa stated that Islamists would stay within mainstream, and that radicalism would "not only run contrary to the law, but will guarantee their political marginalization".

An opponent believes that Ali Gomaa is not necessarily committed to democracy.

Ali Gomaa himself came out in multiple speeches and tv shows and clarified his position.