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Source: http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE5BM02V20091223
Curb on Veil in Egypt Backed by Islamic Clerics
(Reuters) Dina Zayed - Egypt's three most prominent religious leaders have backed a government ban on the niqab, or full face veil, in dormitories and examinations, saying it had no basis in Islam. "Al-Azhar is not against the niqab but against its misuse," the government-run al-Akhbar newspaper on Tuesday cited Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, the head of al-Azhar University, as saying. He said it was a social habit that had no roots in sharia (Islamic law). More than 13 religious scholars have found that the face veil has no substantial roots in Islam, but rather can be considered a "form of extremism," the official MENA news agency cited Tantawi as saying.