Ministry in hot water over imams’ swimwear

Cairo: Egypt’s Ministry of Religious Affairs has suffered embarrassment after a senior official urged imams to mix with foreign visitors at the resorts in a bid to shore up the country’s tourism industry dented by last month’s jet crash in Sinai.

Minister of Waqfs (Religious Affairs) Mohammad Jumma ordered on Friday an inquiry on the ministry’s spokesman Mohammad Abdul Razeq after he was quoted as saying that the state-appointed preachers were permitted to socialise with foreign holidaymakers on trips planned by the ministry as part of a high-profile national campaign to promote tourism.

Last week, Abdul Razeq, who heads the ministry’s religious department, told independent newspaper Al Masri Al Youm that the imams would stay at the same hotels where foreigners lodge. “There is no harm in mingling with them [foreigners] and using swimming pools provided that the ministry’s workers wear Sharia-compliant [full-body] swimwear.”

Abdul Razeq’s remarks drew sharp criticism on social media with detractors saying they harm the imams’ public image and endorse behaviour deemed un-Islamic.

Foreign women, swimming or sunbathing in Egypt’s resorts, usually wear bikinis and skimpy outfits regarded as inappropriate in Islam.

A Muslim man should cover in public the body at least from the navel to the knees and avoid lustful looks at foreign women.

Jumma dismissed Abdul Razeq’s remarks as unrepresentative of the ministry’s opinion about promoting tourism. “Preserving values and morals is part of the ministry’s basic mission. We cannot do anything without observing sound religious and legal rules,” the minister said.

“The main aim of the trips to be organised for imams and the administrative employees is to activate Egypt’s wealth of religious and cultural tourism.”

He added that during the trips the imams will stay in places owned by the ministry in some of Egypt’s tourist destinations. “We will also coordinate with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to make use of the youth hostels in a way that suits the religious, moral and social status of imams.”

Abdul Razeq was not immediately available for comment.

On October 31, a Russian airliner crashed in Egypt shortly after it departed from its popular Sinai resort of Sharm Al Shaikh, killing all 224 people on board. In the aftermath, several countries halted their flights to the resort amid growing fears that the tragedy had been caused by a terrorist bomb. The halt has clouded prospects for tourism, a key foreign currency earner for Egypt.

Even before the jet crash, Egypt’s tourism was suffering from the unrest gripping the country since the 2011 uprising that forced long-time president Hosni Mubarak to step down.