For centuries, the Al Azhar University in Cairo has been referred to and quoted by several Indian clerics. Even the respected Darul Uloom in Deoband says it is the second most respected seat of Islamic learning.

But after the Al Azhar banned the burqa in all-women colleges, the response here among the Ulema has been one of restlessness and confusion.

While the top clerics in Deoband have not spoken, others say the university is moving away from Islamic tenets and traditions.

In fact, the Al Azhar’s decision to ban burqa in girls-only classrooms and residences came after Sheikh Mohammed Tantawi, the country’s Imam and Sunni Islam’s foremost spiritual authority, openly spoke against the full veil during a tour to a Cairo school recently.

“Egypt is heavily influenced by European countries like the UK and France. Men in Egypt don’t wear beards or follow the Islamic dress code. So it is not surprising that the Al-Azhar University has taken such a decision. But we are of the view that it is against the Shariah,” Islamic scholar of Deoband Maulana Nadimul Wazdi said.

Wazdi, who heads a girl’s madrasa at the Darul Uloom Deoband, hoped that the Arab world would speak out against the University’s decision. The university, he felt, was moving away from the age-old Islamic traditions and tenets under the influence of Europe.

Jamiat-UIema-e-Hind leader Maulana Abdul Hameed Nomani and Qari Mohammad Usman, former pro-vice-chancellor of Darul Uloom, shared the opinion that it’s a Shariah rule that Muslim women should wear hijab in public and no one should tinker with this sacred religious code.

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