Egypt's Ministry of Religious Endowments has launched a campaign against wearing the full face veil known as a niqab in government jobs claiming it is not an obligation for Muslims.
The latest crackdown on the niqab follows a prohibition against nurses wearing the full face veil in hospitals.
In the first in a series of seminars aimed at eradicating the niqab from public posts held under the auspices of the Ministry of religious endowments Dr. Salem Abdel-Gelil, Deputy Minister of Religious Endowments for Preaching, explained to the ministry's face-veiled female employees that niqab is not an obligation in Islam and that the headscarf is enough.
" Niqab is a custom that has no basis in religion whether directly or indirectly "
Dr. Salem Abdel-Gelil, Deputy Minister of Religious Endowments for Preaching
"[N]iqab is a custom that has no basis in religion whether directly or indirectly," he told AlArabiya.net. "[A]ccording to the four schools of thought in Islam the face is not awra [a body part that has to be covered]."
Abdel-Gelil stressed that the Islamic dress code required covering the entire body with the exception of the face, feet, and hands and that it cannot be tight or transparent.
"Women performing hajj (pilgrimage) show their faces, and this is the ultimate proof that niqab is not a must."
There are two contradictory references attributed to one of the major Sunni imams Ahmed ibn Hanbal, founder of the Hanbali Sunni school of thought. One of them makes the face veil a requirement while the other says it is not an obligation.
"However, there was a consensus amongst Islamic jurists that covering the face is not required," said Abdel-Gelil, explaining that in Islam, jurists resolve contention through consensus.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/04/20/71056.html