CAIRO - 'Grow your beard before Ramadan' is the slogan of a campaign planned by the Salafists (Muslims who abide by teachings of Islam to the letter). As the revolutionaries have been organising million-strong protests in Al Tahrir Square to press for their unfulfilled demands via social networking websites, the Salafists are now doing the same to persuade other Muslims to grow beards and be more pious. These Salafists are calling for a million men to be bearded before the holy fasting month of Ramadan which starts in August. Their campaign is a very controversial one, showed how wide the gap is between Islamists and secularists in the post-Hosni Mubarak Egypt. Such a campaign indicates a radical change in Egypt after the toppling of an authoritarian regime, obviously indicating an unbalance in favour of religion in the Egyptian street, according to analysts. "This freedom is a fruit of the January 25 revolution. In the presence of the [now disbanded] State Security Police under Mubarak, asking Egyptians to grow beards was like dreaming of touching the moon," says Sheikh Safwat Hegzai, a Salafist cleric. He argues that this campaign is something normal, resulting from the freedom gained after toppling an authoritarian regime. "I would like to see a similar campaign for a million women to wear the niqab [full-face veil]," Hegazi adds. However, some other clerics have been urging young Muslims to pay more attention to how they behave than to their appearance. "Growing a beard is a sunna [a deed of the Prophet Mohamed]. It is not a duty for every Muslim. However, we have priorities. We should campaign for things like work, honesty and good manners, and only then for growing beards," says Egypt's Mufti, Ali Gomaa. The Mufti adds that it doesn't make sense, logically or religiously, to be suffering from an economic crisis, insecurity and other problems and to be urging Muslims to grow beards first. Sheikh Mohamed Hassan, a veteran cleric with strong Salafist leanings, has lauded the campaign, hoping that 80 million Egyptians (this would include all Egypt's women and children too!) grow a beard like the Prophet Mohamed. Secularists and liberals have denounced the campaign for a million Muslims to grow beards, saying the timing of such a campaign could lead to a rift in Egyptian society. "While we are trying to uproot sedition among Muslims and Christians, calls like this could be catastrophic," warns Farida el-Shobashi, a member of Egyptian TV's board of trustees. She adds that Egyptians need to work very hard to rebuild their country, rather than bothering about appearances. During the Mubarak era, bearded Muslims were considered hardliners. They were constantly badgered by the police and many were detained for no clear reason. "Maybe Islamists are putting the ruling Military Council to a real test with this campaign. And maybe they are flexing their muscles and showing their strength in the street. Both possibilities are dangerous," says Diaa Rashwan, a political analyst.
