Professor who endorsed electricity, water theft is suspended

Egypt’s Al-Azhar University has suspended a professor of theology and philosophy for three months, or until investigations are completed, after he issued an Islamic legal opinion that it is permissible for citizens to steal electricity and drinking water due to the increase in prices in the country, reports Middle East Monitor.

Imam Ramadan Imam teaches in the department of Islamic studies at the faculty of education at the university’s Cairo campus. His fatwa was contained in a video under the heading “Steal from them, God will have mercy on you”, which is spreading on social media.

The decision to investigate Imam for his “unusual” fatwa was made because it includes jurisprudential violations and contradicts the teachings of Islam, said the university. Egyptian law governs Al-Azhar in this respect.
Full report on the Middle East Monitor site