Lucknow (AsiaNews
/ Agencies) - Publishing personal
photos on social networking sites
is against shari'a, especially if they are of women. This is according to Saif Abbas, an imam
of Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), in his response to questions made to a local help line, set up for the period of Ramadan.
Along with other Islamic leaders,
the religious cleric discussed the usefulness of platforms like Facebook
and Twitter. Of the many calls received, more than a thousand related to the use of
social networks, defined by the
imams "a waste of time", the "interactions are not real and may in time lead to
problems."
But the point to which Saif Abbas and his "colleagues"
returned more than once was the behavior of women. "Is it okay to post photos of someone
for business reasons or for a good cause -
he specified - but women can
only show their faces to their father, brothers and husband. Social networks violate purdah".
Purdah is the principle
that men - who are not family -
cannot see women.