Al Azhar mosque (Reuters) Al Azhar mosque (Reuters)

A report by a committee set up by Al Azhar, one of the oldest and most prestigious Islamic universities in Cairo, to study the fatwas issued by the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis reveals how Islamists view women.The findings of the committee's report were published in the Egyptian newspaper Al Masry Al Youm. In all, the committee studied 51 fatwas issued by the Brotherhood and the Salafis during President Mohamed Morsi's tenure.According to the report, "the fatwas issued by both groups (the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis) regard women as strange creatures who are created solely for sex. They considered the voices of women, their looks and presence outside the walls of their homes an 'offence'. Some even went as far as to consider women as a whole offensive."Another fatwa prohibited women from "eating certain vegetables or even touching cucumbers or bananas", due to their phallic imagery which could lead women down the wrong path.Another fatwa directed women to "turn off the air conditioners at home in the absence of their husbands as this could indicate to a neighbour that the woman is at home alone and any of them could commit adultery with her".Another fatwa orders that girls as young as 10-years-old be married "to prevent them from deviating from the right path".Another prohibited girls from going to school more than 25km away from their homes.A strange one said that a couple's marriage would be annulled if they copulate with no clothes on.Interestingly, one fatwa which made headlines all over the world was issued by the Al Azhar university which called for women to "breastfeed male acquaintances thereby making them relatives and justifying their mixed company". The fatwa was, however, later retracted.At the same time, some of these fatwas also sanctioned the use of women as human shields during violent demonstrations and protests.The Gatestone Institute, in an earlier report, had said that some of the fatwas issued by the Brotherhood and Salafis during Morsi's tenure advocated the destruction of the pyramids and sphinx, the scrapping of the Camp David Accord, killing anyone who protested against ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, forbidding Muslims from greeting Christians, forbidding Muslim cab drivers from transporting Christian priests, forbidding TV shows that mock or make light of Islamists; and forbidding women from marrying any men involved with the former Mubarak government.