Egypt Suffers From a Fatwa Free-for-All

The credibility of fatwas, the religious rulings that guide daily life for Muslims, is being strained in Egypt, the New York Times reports.  A flap ensued recently when one authority ruled in favor of  drinking the Prophet Mohammed’s urine and another approved co-ed workplaces if the women breast-fed male colleagues to make them "family."

“These two fatwas are harming our Islamic religion” more than last year’s infamous Danish cartoons, said a prominent Egyptian professor. Fatwa-giving, a role the Times calls a combination of “social worker, therapist, lawyer and religious adviser,” has mushroomed as websites and television shows weigh in with advice. Ironically, it was authorized sources who issued the recent embarrassments. (More law stories.)