CAIRO: Egypt's Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim said Monday the ministry will crackdown on the officers who let their beard grow against the codes of the ministry, adding that they could be tried in court. In a tour Ibrahim took in the southern city of Assiut, he confronted the controversial calls for officers to be free to let their beards grow following Islamic tradition and he confirmed those officers would be suspended, investigated and possibly tried for their offense. He added that the ministry asked Islamic scholars and they gave their opinions that the beard is “a habit and not Sunna,” or deeds of the prophet that religious people follow. “The ministry's traditions prohibit the beard and anyone who defies that will be confronted,” Ibrahim told reporters in his tour as he checked the security situation in a number of southern cities. The statements already stirred anger from a number of groups, as Gama'a Islamiya in Assiut issued a statement condemning the minister and stating that the beard is in the core of Sunna and not a habit, as he said. Hamadah Nasar, spokesman of the group in Assuit, said the statement came as a “shock” as “all know beards are Sunna of the prophet according to great Islamic thinkers and the verified sayings of the prophet himself who said ‘trim the mustache and let the beard go'.” The group, which denounced violence after a violent campaign against the government ended in the 1990s and holds seats in the Egyptian parliament, added that it is a matter of “personal freedom as long as it doesn't affect the performance of the officer in duty.” Hundreds of police officers have expressed their wish to grow their beards on duty instead of having to shave it everyday according to the ministry's customs. They started lobby groups to pressure the ministry to allow them to look as they wish. The religious officers wish to convey their beliefs in their outward appearance and trying to organize themselves, especially after a number of police officers were suspended and transferred for investigation for failing to follow the ministry's code. But not everyone was supportive of the officers demands, as the Salafist Front spokesman Khaled Said wrote on the front's Facebook page on Tuesday that they do not approve of the idea, pointing out it could harm the relationship between the Islamists and the ministry of interior. In the 1980s, and at the peak of national terrorism in Egypt, militant Islamists groups, most notably Gama'a Islamiya – who assassinated president Anwar al-Sadat – were at war with the state and the ministry of interior and they launched numerous attacks with heavy weaponry on police stations, killing tens of officers and soldiers before many leaders were captured in the 1990s and after years of talks they agreed to denounce violence from prison as part of their release. The Salafist Front said that “we can do without any potential problems with the ministry” and pointed out that instead of calling for the beards they should have called for the “cleansing” of the ministry. The minister of interior, however refuses the term “cleansing” as he told reporters on Monday. He said the term that should be used is “reconstruction” as “the ministry has a long and great history of serving Egypt” and that the “reconstruction of the ministry already started and is under way.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/Zsxfh Tags: Beards, featured, Islam, MOI Section: Egypt, Features, Latest News, Religion
