Sheikh Tantawi

Detail: Hathorian Head from Temple of Dendera's roof
(The Goddess Hathor was the Egyptian goddess of feminine love, motherhood, and joy)

For those of you how don't know Sheikh Muhhamad Sayyid Tantawi, he's the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Mosque and thereby the Grand Sheikh of Al Azhar University. Juan Cole described him as the "foremost Sunni Arab Authority."

As the story goes, Tantawi is Hosni's puppet, a glutton for the political prestige and monetary gains that Hosni can give him. Notable views of the Grand Sheikh include having condemned suicide bombings against Israelis, and having said that not wearing the hijab to school is the lesser of two evils in relation to the hijab ban in France. Additonally, Sheikh Tantawi opposed female genital circumcision, having gone on record to say that his own daughter has not been circumsized.

Tantawi's newest fatwa deals with abortion, and my personal feelings on the subject are mixed.
Essentially, Tantawi has sanctioned abortion in the case of raped women.
As always there are conditions.
Condition number one, as reported by Al Arabiya: The chastity of the woman.
What determine's the chastity of a woman? Well, according to Tantawi, if a girl is walking down the road on the way to university and is raped, she is considered chaste. Controversy ensues- the baby is already a fetus, say Azharite scholars! How do you determine her chastity, say the rest!
Condition number two, as reported by Almasry-Alyoum, quotes the sheikh:
"But if she feels comfortable with what happened, she can't have an abortion"

Erg. Abortion rights in Egypt have a ways to go-
My little monologue to Sheikh Tantawi:
1. Do you really believe that the chastity of women should ever play into question in the case of rape? A rape is a rape is a rape. Whether the woman is 'chaste' or not, she should never have to prove promiscuity in that situation.
2. Do you really believe that she would be comfortable with what happened. Let's see something like that happen to you, and then let me ask you if you're comfortable with that. Based on that, would you , my dear, like an abortion?