Men allowed to marry 'illegitimate daughters', says Egyptian cleric; sparks outrage

The Sharia law does not recognize an illegitimate daughter as she does not carry her father’s name, the cleric claimed.

CAIRO: A prominent Egyptian cleric has said that men are permitted to marry their illegitimate daughters if they want, sparking an outrage.

Mazen Al-Sersawi, a cleric of the Salafist ideology, said that daughters who are not officially attributed to their fathers can be married to them.

The Sharia law does not recognize an illegitimate daughter as she does not carry her father’s name, Al-Sersawi, who teaches at the prestigious Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, was quoted as saying in a video.

According to the Express Tribune, the video was originally made in 2012 but it has recently resurfaced online.

The online video has drawn angry reactions from the public on social media.

Earlier this year, another Egyptian cleric had triggered a major outrage over his remarks on the marriage age for girls.

Muftah Mohammad Maarouf had reportedly said that there is no set age for marriage for girls under Sharia.