Renowned Egyptian TV anchor Ibrahim Eissa stirred a social media storm in the north African country with his controversial remarks about fasting in the holy month of Ramadan.
According to Egyptian media, the TV presenter made the remarks during a show in which the month of Ramadan came under discussion on the US-based Television channel Alhurra.
According to the local media, in the show Eissa repeatedly questioned the necessity of fasting in Ramadan.
Responding to Eissa’s comments, the former head of the Fatwas Committee in the Al-Azhar Mosque, Abdel Hamid al-Atrash, told Egypt Independent on Tuesday that Eissa is not authorized to give an opinion on Islamic matters.
“Eissa is not specialized enough in Islam to give his views on an issue considered to be specialization for Islamic scholars graduated from Al-Azhar. Just as it is not logical that a police officer discusses medicine, the government should prevent those who do not understand Islam from discussing Islamic issues such as fasting,” he told Egypt Independent .
Ramadan is likely to start on Thursday in many countries.
Muslims all over the world fast during the days of this month and make special prayers at night.
The month of Ramadan traditionally begins with a new moon sighting, marking the start of the ninth month in the Islamic calendar.
During this period, Muslims keep fast abstain from food, drink, and other certain activities during daylight hours.
Ramzan ends when the first crescent of the new moon is sighted again. Eid-ul- Fitr is the Islamic holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.