'Women have equal rights in Islam and can be rulers'

Dubai: Egypt's top cleric yesterday denied a press report which quoted him as saying Islam forbids women from becoming heads of state, and declared that women can be presidents of countries.

The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Dr Ali Gomaa, refuted press reports claiming he issued a fatwa barring women from political leadership.

"Women have equal political rights in Islam," he said in a press statement issued yesterday.

On January 27, the flagship state-owned daily Al Ahram carried a fatwa by Shaikh Gomaa saying that Islam forbids women from becoming heads of state because it would require them to lead prayer - something only a man can do.

"This ruling does not refer to the head of a modern state but to the traditional role of Caliph as both secular head of state and imam of the Muslims," he said in yesterday's statement, referring to a position that was abolished with the fall of the Ottoman empire in 1924.

"The head of state in a contemporary Muslim society, be he a president, prime minster or king, is no longer required or expected to lead Muslims in prayer. Therefore, it is permissible for women to hold the highest office in modern Muslim nations," he added.