Ministry of Religious Affairs: A new website called the Bank of Fatwas aiming to end religious controversy and confusion in Algeria

Algeria’s Ministry of Religious Affairs launches a new website called the Bank of Fatwas as part of the celebrations of the holy month Ramadan.

• The new website unveiled by the ministry aims to stop incorrect or extremist fatwas flood Algeria from satellite TV channels and the internet, as well as to end the confusion.
• “This initiative is intended to prevent poor interpretations of sharia laws and the fundamental principles of Islam in general,” said Yahia Daouri, the Director of Guidance at the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
• Algerian Imams selected by the ministry will reply to questions e-mailed by citizens about religious subjects such as faith, inheritance, zakat, prayer.
• “Imams in mosques are appointed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, so they are empowered to issue fatwas. The internet web site is just an aid. We came up with this method after taking account of the fact that many people are interested in internet web sites,” Daouri added.
• There was also an urgent need for such a body. Although Algeria’s High Islamic Council (HCI) is empowered by law to issue fatwas at the request of the president’s office, it plays a merely advisory role.
• The idea of this website comes after one recent incident in Algeria which is the importation of Indian meat for the holy month of Ramadan, as the ministry found it necessary to create a website that could clarify such religious incidents.
•  A controversy erupted over the importation of Indian meat to Algeria for the holy month of Ramadan. Cheikh Chemseddine issued a fatwa making the consumption of this meat haram. The imam based his decision on the fact that “the method used to slaughter the animals and the identities of those responsible for this task are not known”.
• However, Religious Affairs Minister Bouabdellah Ghlamallah stated that “meat imported from India is halal”.
• “A quarter of India’s population is Muslim,” the minister asserted.
• Now, will the new website quell extremism and stop religious controversy and confusion?