CAIRO: Dar Al-Ifta, the official authority for issuing fatwas (religious opinions), affirmed the permissibility of pluralism, according to a statement issued Monday. The fatwa clarified that no particular political system was specified by Islamic Sharia, which left the matter open to what was agreed upon and interpreted “by the nation's scholars,” since the time of the Prophet. Political pluralism itself was defined in the fatwa as “the multitude of political opinions, emanating from ‘political parties' formed by a group of people with converging views, attempting to apply such views by parliamentary or ministerial representation, or even through access to the presidency.” The fatwa also referred to the methods of appointment of the first three Caliphs (successors to the Prophet) as jurisprudential evidence. “The Prophet never specified his successor, and the Muslims chose Abu Bakr, who in turn appointed Omar as a successor, and Omar appointed six of which one would be elected,” it said. The fatwa also cited further evidence in the dealings of the Prophet with his companions in matters of mutual disagreement, such as “[the Prophet's] discourse with Omar on the day of Al-Hudaybiyah, and with Al-Ansar in the Battle of Hunein.” The two incidents demonstrate “the admittance of the prophet of disagreement” and his engaging into dialogue with those who disagreed. The fatwa however stipulated that disagreement must adhere with certain ethics beforehand, and that such pluralism be “within a legal framework agreed upon by society, through a Shura council or otherwise.” The fatwa ended with a call towards each voter, calling upon him to “fear God in his vote” and “to investigate the interest of the nation wherever he could.”
