Algeria is offering special training courses to religious leaders, in order to help them confront controversial fatwas, or religious edicts, being issued across the Islamic world, according to the London-based A-Sharq Al-Awsat.
Algeria’s Ministry of Religious Affairs opened the first training course in Qusantina this month. It was attended by people studying to be community religious leaders.
The ministry said there were many baseless fatwas being issued by people who claimed to be authoritative religious figures, but in fact lacked training and conveyed false messages through the satellite channels, causing confusion among the public.
A particular fatwa which caused an uproar last month was issued by a cleric from Egypt’s prestigious Al-Azhar University. It permitted women to breastfeed adult colleagues in the workplace, in order to avoid breaking religious laws that forbid men and women being together. The fatwa caused embarrassment among Muslim and religious authorities.
“Well informed sources” said the aim of the course is to safeguard and strengthen society, and protect it from the “trickery” transmitted through some of the satellite channels.