Egyptian preacher who issued ‘sex with dead wives’ fatwa banned from TV

Egypt's Supreme Council for Media Regulation issued a decision to ban preacher Dr. Sabri Abdel Raouf from making TV appearances after he issued a fatwa (religious edict) granting husbands the right to have intercourse with their dead wives.

The decision bans Sheikh Sabri from appearing on private or public satellite channels or to be hosted on radio stations.

Makram Mohammed Ahmed, chairman of the media body, said on Monday that the council had taken the decision because Sheikh Sabri issued a fatwa that insults Islam

He added that such fatwa disregards Muslims’ ethics and morals and disrespects the sanctity of the dead.

He added that the council will not allow TV programs to discuss such issues, and will appeal to Al-Azhar - the leading authority on Sunni Islam - to investigate the controversial remarks.

The chairman also said that the media body a issued a memo to all channels to take into consideration which guests to select and to rely on scholars from Al-Azhar and the Awqaf Ministry in matters of fatwa.

Dr. Abdul Raouf denied issuing the fatwa, saying it was falsely attributed to him and that it was taken out of context.

He said he was responding to a reporter's question about a fatwa issued by an Arab cleric allowing intercourse with a dead wife and said it was forbidden, but he was surprised that the fatwa spread on social media and was attributed to him.

Dr. Ahmed Hosni, Vice President of Al-Azhar University, said Sunday that the university will summon Dr. Abdel Raouf to investigate what was attributed to him, and to know from him on what reference his fatwa was based on.