Top Egyptian cleric calls to ban Islamic ringtones in mobile phones
Updated
Go anywhere in the Arab world and you're certain to hear the call to prayer or a Koranic verse somewhere where a phone is ringing. But now a top Muslim cleric in Egypt has issued a Fatwa to ban the use of Islamic ringtones in mobile phones. Egypt's Grand Mufti says they're inappropriate, misleading and demeaning. But they're all the rage in Egypt and much of the Middle East.
Presenter: Middle East correspondent Anne Barker
Speakers: Isam Mahmoud Mohammed, local Egyptian; sheikh, Mohammed Wissam; Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, Egypt's top Muslim cleric
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ANNE BARKER: They're all the rage in Egypt and much of the Middle East ringtones for the religious.
(Sound of religious ringtone)
Some sound like the call to prayer at the local mosque.
(Sound of religious ringtone)
This one is a verse from the Koran.
MOHAMMED: When I hear the Koran, it makes me feel good. It brings me closer to God. When it's just a silly love song, I don't feel the same way.
BARKER: Islamic ringtones have become the ultimate fashion statement in a country and region that is steadily becoming more overtly religious. In Egypt alone there are tens of millions of mobile-phone subscribers and ringtones like these are big business sold on the internet and advertised on TV. They're popular not just in Egypt but in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the West Bank and Lebanon.
But Egypt's top Muslim cleric believes God's words don't belong in a mobile phone and Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa has issued a fatwa - or a religious edict - to ban ringtones that use the Koran or the call to prayer.
WISSAM: The Koran is sacred and shouldn't be profaned," says one sheikh, Mohammed Wissam. "When it's used as a ringtone it loses its spiritual meaning. When the phone is answered it's cut off in mid-verse. The Koran should never be cut in half."
BARKER: Egyptian Muslims are increasingly filling their lives with religious symbols. Koranic verses are also popular as computer screensavers or on car bumper stickers. More and more women are wearing the full face veil and religious men increasingly sport the traditional beard. But the fatwa is already having an effect.
Isam Mahmoud Mohammed - for one - agrees that Koranic ringtones could be offensive to God.
MOHAMMED: It depends how a phone is used. Sometimes if you're in the toilet for example and the phone rings - it's not the place to hear God's words.
BARKER: And for those who insist, the grand mufti suggests they use Islamic hymns or religious prose on their mobile phones.
