Arwa Farroukh, was shocked to hear about the recent fatwa banning the exchange of flour for bread from bakeries. She had been making the exchange at her local bakery for months while the energy crisis prevented her from making her own bread at home.

Exchanging flour for bread at bakeries has become a common practice in the Gaza Strip. Women from middle and poor classes in Gaza traditionally bake their own bread at home. The UNRWA gives out food vouchers to the needy in Gaza every three months. Each voucher includes one bag of flour for each member of a family.

But the energy crisis plaguing the Gaza Strip has made it difficult to make and keep bread at home. Many people reached deals with local bakeries to give the flour they receive from UNRWA to the baker, who gives bread in exchange for one shekel (31 cents) per kilogram of bread.

Now a fatwa banning the exchange has raised concerns among many poor families in Gaza. On Oct. 18, Grand Mufti of Khan Yunis Sheikh Ihsan Ibrahim Ashour prohibited the practice in a fatwa, which said this practice falls under usury, which is prohibited in Islam.