Muslim-American groups are supporting a "fatwa" issued this week forbidding Muslims to go through full body scanners because it violates Islamic rules on modesty, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Free Press reporter Niraj Warikoo writes that the Fiqh Council of North America – a body of Islamic scholars – issued the religious ruling this week.

The fatwa says:

"It is a violation of clear Islamic teachings that men or women be seen naked by other men and women. Islam highly emphasizes haya (modesty) and considers it part of faith. The Quran has commanded the believers, both men and women, to cover their private parts."



The Council on American-Islamic Relations also endorses the ruling, the newspaper says.

In a statement, the Transportation Security Administration emphasizes that body scanners are optional to all passengers. Those who turn them down, the TSA says, will receive "equivalent screening," which may include a physical pat-down, hand-wanding and other technologies.

The TSA also says the body scanners "do not produce photos, but images that look like chalk outlines."

Body scanner images are available at www.tsa.gov.

(Posted by Doug Stanglin)