The Supreme Administrative Court on Saturday upheld a ban on wearing niqab in examination rooms.
The court said a university may decide to ban niqab during examinations, and if the niqab constitutes a personal freedom for Muslim women, such a freedom should not contradict security, educational, or any other considerations that require a student to reveal her face.
The court mentioned that its ruling is supported by the Grand Mufti, who said that in the viewpoint of the majority of Muslim scholars the niqab is only a tradition.
It said the ruling does not contradict Article 2 of the Constitution which states that Islam is Egypt's official religion.
The court further said that the Maliki school — one of the four main schools of religious law within Sunni Islam — said the niqab is “disliked” by Muslim women if this is not the tradition in their country. They said it is not part of the Prophet's tradition and is not stated in the Quran as an obligation.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
