Commuters passing through Cairo's downtown Al Shohada metro station, one of the busiest stops on Cairo's subway system, are now being offered a new service along with the train rides: religious edicts or “fatwas” free of charge courtesy of Al-Azhar.  

Seated behind a desk in a small kiosk that bears a sign reading “Fatwa Committee,” two on-duty clerics from Sunni Islam’s oldest and most prestigious institution give religious guidance and advice to commuters who seek them out in what the sheikhs say is an attempt “to counter extremism.” 

The fatwa kiosk is the first of several that Al-Azhar plans to install at Cairo metro stations in the coming months. It is the brainchild of Mohi El Din Afifi, the secretary-general of the Al-Azhar-affiliated Islamic Research Academy, who hopes “to bring Al-Azhar closer to the people,” according to Sheikh Ali Mostafa, one of the two clerics working the afternoon shift when Al-Monitor visited. The kiosk, which began operating July 17, is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. “Since its launch, hundreds of curious commuters have stopped by to greet us and ask questions on a host of religious matters ranging from rulings on marital and divorce issues to life insurance and atheism,” Mostafa said.

“The response from the public has been overwhelming. There is a real hunger for knowledge about religious matters,” Sheikh Ahmed Ramzy, the second cleric, told Al-Monitor.