Egypt witnessed in 2015 a wide controversy over many intellectual and cultural issues, including contempt of religion issues, some of women's issues as well as antiquities' issues. Contempt of religion issues Some writers, journalists, artists and celebrities used some of Holy Quran's verses in order to criticize policies, while others used the freedom of expression to discuss extremely sensitive religious matters. Others launched a sharp attack against the old scholars using doctrinal words and expressions, what made charges of contempt of religion haunt all of them. Finally, they face either imprisonment or fine sentences. The most prominent personalities accused of contempt of religion was Egyptian writer Fatima Naoot and researcher Islam Al-Beheiry . The writer Fatima Naoot The prosecution office postponed the case against Fatima Naoot. She wrote a Facebook post in which she expressed her disagreement with the traditional practice of slaughtering animals during the Islamic Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) and described it as the "biggest massacre." She wrote that she would not take part in this "massacre that is committed by humans for 10 and half centuries and continues to be repeated with a smile." The researcher Islam Al-Beheiry Islamic show host Islam al-Beheiry was sentenced in absentia to five years over charges of insulting the religions. Al-Azhar had accused him of broadcasting destructive thoughts that affect "the fundamentals of religion" and filed a complaint against him before Egypt's top prosecutor. Youssef Zeidan and Al-Aqsa's in a recent TV interview, Egyptian novelist and scholar Youssef Ziedan said that Al-Aqsa Mosque in Palestine is not Al-Aqsa Mosque to which the Quran referred. This statement sparked a wave of anger against him by the Muslim scholars and intellectuals. Ziedan said that Al-Haram Mosque and Al-Aqsa Mosque were "on the road from Mecca to Ta'if. Neither we nor the [Jews] have anything to do with it," he said. "It's all politics." He also denied that Al-Aqsa is the first direction of prayer for Muslims. Cairo University bans staff from wearing Niqab One of the most controversial decisions taken in 2015 was the ban of Niqab in the Cairo university. It decided to ban its academic staff from wearing Niqab inside the classrooms. The controversial decision was made by Gaber Nassar, the Chairman of the university, immediately before the start of this academic year. Nassar stressed that the decision was made to "ease communication with students". But the university's decision has been quickly criticized by several Islamic preachers. Calls to take off the Hijab Cherif Choubachy, an Egyptian journalist and writer, urged Egyptian girls to take off their Hijab in a public protest in Tahrir Square in the first week of May. Choubachy wrote on Facebook: "I suggest that a group of girls would take off their Hijab in a public demonstration in Tahrir Square in any day of the first week of May. The girls must be guarded by men to protect them pledging to be one of those men." Al-Azhar condemned the call and described it as "degrading to women and it takes them back to the Ages of Ignorance. The tomb of the lost Queen Nefertiti After the British archaeologist Nicholas Reeves published a report confirming that the tomb of Queen Nefertiti buried behind the doors inside the walls of Tutankhamun's cemetery. Egyptian archaeologists strongly criticized Reeves theory, stressing that its aim is just to tamper with the cemetery. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Antiquities has paid great attention to the case. Minister of Antiquities, Mamdouh Al-Damati invited Reeves to discuss the matter. Tutankhamun's beard glued back on The blue and gold braided beard on the burial mask of pharaoh Tutankhamun has been hastily glued back on after it was damaged, what made the global scene witnessed extensive arguments after the restoration process of the mask witnessed a false use of glue to reattach the beard. It is not clear whether the mask was damaged during cleaning or if the beard was removed because it was loose. Selling Sekhmet-Ka statue Northampton Museum in the United Kingdom put the paranoiac statute of Sekhmet Ka up for an auction. This measure raised the anger of the Egyptian officials describing it as a cultural crime. The statue's existence in the British museum does not provide its officials with the right to sell it, stressing the right of the Egyptian government to protect the Egyptian heritage whether inside or outside the country. The government launched a campaign to stop the sale of the statute Sekhmet Ka in an auction in the United Kingdom. But finally, the statue was sold despite the attempts to prevent the matter. Confiscation books Confiscation books Ibn Baz and Ibn Uthaymeen mosques in Egypt The Egyptian Ministry of Religious Endowments launched an inspection campaign on a number of mosques in Cairo, during which the confiscated books to the elders of the Salafi movement, first and foremost wrote: Mohammed bin Abdul Wahab, Ibn Baz, Ibn Uthaymeen, Ibn Taymiyyah, and Said Azim, and Abdullatif Msthra, and Abu Ishaq thrust, and Mohamed Hussein Yacoub, and Mohammed Hassan. Ministry of Endowments obliged, Monday, imams workers and preachers, examined of books in libraries, mosques, and the confiscation of books that carry ideas adopt trends do not fit and tolerance of Islam, or pay to militancy, referring to the books of authors affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, led by its founder Hassan al-Banna , and preacher Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Some issues met considerable controversy in the Egyptian street, such as the issue of taking off the Hijab, and others faced controversy between the circles of intellectuals such as Youssef Zeidan and antiquities' issues.
