How Egypt's religious institutions are trying to curb atheism

[Heddi]

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/03/egypt-women-divorce-atheism.html

CAIRO, Egypt — Recently released statistics from the Family Court affiliated with the Supreme Judicial Council, with offices across all governorates in Egypt, revealed that 6,500 women had filed for divorce, or "khula" — separation and returning the dowry to the husband — in 2015 over their husbands' "atheism or change of belief."

..
According to Article 3 of the Personal Status Law No. 1 of 2000, rulings with regard to divorce and separation cases are issued in accordance with either this law or the Islamic jurisprudence of Imam Abu Hanifa al-Nu’man in cases where the text of the law is not clear. Under this school of jurisprudence, a married Muslim woman has the right to obtain a divorce in the event that her husband has renounced his faith.

According to the second paragraph of the same article, the personal status of Christians is regulated according to Christian teachings, should the spouses be of the same sect or confession. In case of different sects, should the husband want to relinquish his Christian faith, the woman follows the same rules applied on Muslim women, and therefore has the right for divorce.

..
On Dec. 10, 2014, Dar al-Ifta's Fatwa Monitoring Observatory published a report to monitor the causes of the increasing phenomenon of atheism among young people in Muslim countries, especially those in the Arab region that are undergoing major political and social changes.

In a press statement March 10, Ibrahim Najm, an adviser to the Grand Mufti of the Republic, said that the distortion of the image of Islam by the Takfiri terrorist groups through the application of wrong concepts, violence, murder and violation of human rights as one of the teachings of Islam is one of the most important reasons for the spread of atheism in the countries of the region.

He added that Dar al-Ifta approved an index prepared by the Red Sea Research Center, affiliated with Secular Global Institute in all countries of the world, stating that Egypt has 866 atheists.

----
"Although the number is not large ... it is the highest in the Arab countries. Libya has only 34, Sudan 70, Yemen 32, Tunisia 329, Syria 56, Iraq 242, Saudi Arabia 178, Jordan 170, and Morocco 325," Najm said.

Some, however, believe that women who had asked for divorce were hyperbolic and hasty in making their decisions. Saif Ragab Kazamel, dean of the Faculty of Sharia and Law at Al-Azhar University's Tanta branch, told Al-Monitor, "When a wife starts having doubts about her husband’s change of belief or inclination toward atheism, she does not have to rush and ask for divorce, as this would lead to the breakup of the family. Instead, she needs to try and preserve her family and marriage."