By Amany Abul-Fadl For a lot of observers of the cultural scene in Egypt, the niqab incident that took place this month at one Egyptian religious school was more than a fuss about a school rule banning the full face veil. Some read the incident as a new episode in already tense relations between the government and Islamist groups, and a direct message to Islamist sympathisers that a new era of restrictions will touch personal conduct -- such as clothing -- is imminent. The incident is highly significant because the figure responsible was the grand sheikh of Al-Azhar, who is at top of the Sunni hierarchy and because it took place at a religious school. Women's rights are gaining ground, but ironically, Islamist women cannot find a place for their personal freedoms. The opponents to the niqab ban claim that at a time when the law harasses those who wish to cover up, it protects those who take to the streets in mini skirts and low cut blouses. Islamic dress in general is under attack and being restricted in many Western countries suspected of being a sign of terrorism. Marwa El-Sherbini's murder in Germany is one example. This is enough reason to arouse suspicions of foreign pressure, argue some, like that pushing for the legalisation of abortion and freedom of sexual orientation. Those who are suspicious about foreign influence cannot forget that it was the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Mohamed Tantawi who gave Sarkozy, minister of the interior at the time, the green light to ban the hijab in French schools when he came to Egypt and visited Tantawi to ask his permission for that decision. And they can't forget that it was Tantawi who proposed to parliament to legalise abortion for pregnant rape victims. Ban opponents are seriously alarmed that Egypt is running towards secularisation, and that the authority that has been charged for more than a millennium with safeguarding the Islamic religion, not only in Egypt but also in the entire Muslim world, is becoming an instrument of secularisation. In the midst of this there remains a question I believe worthy of answering: Is it the time to make much ado over a minor issue like that of the niqab while the Al-Aqsa Mosque is besieged, with resisters locked up inside for weeks, and the whole of the Holy City of Jerusalem facing imminent Judaisation? This week's Soapbox speaker is a researcher at the Centre of Monitoring Women's Priorities (MARAM).
