A crazy fight broke out between an Australian mufti and an Egyptian lawyer on LTC – an Egyptian television channel – Monday.
According to a clip, the lawyer Nabih al-Wahash and the scholar Mostafa Rashed fought after the former called the latter an “infidel,” a grave insult to many Arabic-speakers. It’s not clear from various clips what they were arguing about at the moment the fight broke out. However, they were discussing what makes something permissible or forbidden in Islam, as well as some controversial views of Rashed throughout the show.
At one point in the show, Rashed said that Muslim women are not compelled to cover their hair in public by wearing a hijab. This view differs from many other mainstream religious scholars.
The two hurled harsh words back and forth at one another before fighting, and then al-Wahash removed his shoes and began to hit Rashed.
As seen in the 2008 Bush shoeing incident when the Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw his shoes at the then US president, using the shoe as a weapon is also quite disrespectful in the Arab world.
The two were appearing on LTC’s “Wake Up” (Sa7 El Noam) show, hosted by Mohammad al-Ghaiti. Staff quickly separated the two men when the fight began, and al-Ghiti later released a video message posted to LTC’s YouTube channel apologizing for the incident.
Rashed is further known for his un-orthodox opinions on alcohol, and is often called the “alcohol permitting sheikh” in YouTube videos. The Australian mufti believes only getting drunk is forbidden by the Quran – not the consumption of alcohol itself – and has discussed his beliefs on alcohol on the same show in the past. This view clashes significantly with most mainstream Muslim scholars.
AL
