CAIRO: Monopolies were declared anathema to Islamic law in a strongly-worded statement on Monday by the Front of Al-Azhar Scholars. The document titled "To the shameless monopolizers, the deniers of obligations to God was published on jabhaonline.org in response to a TV interview conducted with steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz on the popular nightly talk show "Al-Ashera Masaan. "We are required to give a quick response to warn his party and his government of the dangers of what they are doing both to themselves and to the Muslim community, said the statement. Although neither Ezz's name nor the name of his company were mentioned in the statement, the implications were clear enough. Referring to Ezz's refusal to reveal the size of his fortune on the TV show, despite the anchor's repeated inquiries, the statement accused him of "denying one of the of pillars of Islam: zakat, obligatory alms to the poor. The accusation is based on the reasoning that if he paid zakat, he would know the size of his fortune. "The guest was asked by the host of the show more than once about the size of his fortune, and he evaded the questions, said the statement. "If this person was concerned about his responsibilities towards the third pillar of Islam, he would have known the size of his wealth. The statement also accused him of the forbidden practice of monopolizing the market. Ezz appeared on the poplar Dream TV show last week to discuss his business practices on the heels of the approval of a controversial anti-monopoly law by the PA. Pundits and political rivals claimed that he used his political clout in the PA to push for a watered down version of the law to protect his own interests and uphold his monopoly over the steel sector. During the interview, Ezz denied that his company employs monopolistic business practices despite the fact that it controls close to 60 percent of the market share. "Our share of the market has decreased from 72 percent to around 56 percent because about 10 new companies have entered the field adding two tons [of steel] to the local market, Ezz said in an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm. The statement also accuses Ezz of insinuating that monopolization is not a crime of honor, while emphasizing that it is a crime against the Muslim community as a whole. "Islam is against monopolies and rejects those who practice them. It is the right of a country's leader to intervene to end such monopolies, Al-Azhar Sheikh Fawzy El-Zefzaf told Daily News Egypt. The Front for Al-Azhar scholars is affiliated to the Islamic Research Center, an advisory group to Al-Azhar.
