Suad Ibrahim Salih (Arabic: سعاد إبراهيم صالح; born 1945) is an Egyptian television personality, preacher, and Islamic scholar. She is Professor and Head of Comparative Jurisprudence and Dean of the Faculty of the Women's College at Al-Azhar University.[1][2] She was formerly dean of Islamic and Arabic studies for women at Mansoura University.
Biography
In 1998, Salih campaigned in Egypt to allow women to serve as mufti.[1][3][4] She petitioned the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Nasr Farid Wasil, to allow her to become a mufti and issue fatwas, arguing Islam does not prohibit women from serving as muftis.[2]
She has authored works of gender analysis on Islamic law.[5]
Salih was featured in the 2010 documentary Veiled Voices by Brigid Maher and Karen Bauer, that profiles Middle Eastern female Islamic scholars.[6]
Controversies
In 2007, Salih called for an 11-year old rape victim, Hind, and her father to be flogged for defamation in mistakenly accusing the wrong man of rape. Hind had become pregnant as a result of the rape. Salih questioned the age of the victim, asserting that she was 16. This was contested by the victim's family.[7]
In March 2010, she opposed a bill to legalize abortion and sterilization of women whose health or finances are incompatible with having children.[8]
On her television program in 2014 on Al-Hayat, Salih argued that Islam allows Muslim men in warfare to capture non-Muslim women, enslave them, and have sex with them as concubines to humiliate them.[9][10][11]