Muslim Scholars Declare Nude Body Scanners Immoral and Haram

Several Arabic language publications reported the statement of Shaikh Uthman Batikh, the Mufti of Tunis, who described the nude body scanners as haram (prohibited in Islamic Law) and a violation of human dignity. In a recent interview reported by weekly magazine Tunis Hebdo, he said, “Subjecting travelers to body scanners that expose the naked body is an immoral exercise that every divine religion forbids.”

He added, “Subjecting travelers to such scanners is taking humanity to the lowest level and a sacrilege, for it is humans alone that Allah honored above all other forms of creation by commanding them to cover their bodies so that they be worthy of respect.”

Al-Azhar Scholars:

The Arabic language publication al-Sharq quoted scholars at Al-Azhar who expressed support for the fatwa issued by Mufti of Tunis. They declared these scanners a brazen assault on human dignity and a violation of human rights and sanctity of the human body. They stressed that the present security devices are sufficient and demanded that the usage of these scanners be stopped.

Dr. Muhammad Abu Layla, professor at Al-Azhar University, said, “This is but a new brazen assault on freedom and human rights which are supposed to be guaranteed by western law, but here they are disavowing their own principles. There needs to be a serious stand against this matter. This is an open attack on human dignity and it can lead to numerous problems.” He emphasized that Islamic principles that prohibit revealing the body and the private parts in this manner must be respected.

Dr. Muhammad al-Dasuqi, teacher of Usool al-Fiqh, said, “For us as Muslims, this is an attack on human dignity. They currently have other machines that are sufficient for security. There is no need to reveal the inner details of the body. This … is a clear assault on the human freedoms that they boast about day and night. This is very dangerous for us as Muslims, and especially for our women.”

Dr. Zaki Usman, another professor at Al-Azhar, said, “It is incumbent on the fiqhi organizations to get into motion and issue an official fatwa forbidding these machines and make this fatwa widespread through official means as well as the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS), so that they [westerners] realize that our religion will never accept this and that they ought to search for other means [of security] that preserve the sanctity and dignity of the human body.”