Islam already forbids anything resembling fun and freedom, so this really won't surprise anyone..........

Cairo, 4 Feb.- A top Egyptian cleric has issued a fatwa forbidding use of the popular social networking site Facebook. Muslims using such sites must be considered "sinners" said the religious edict's author, sheikh Abdel Hamid al-Atras. Statistics show divorce rates have rise since the advent of Facebook and it has sharply increased marital infidelity, he claimed.

"It's an instrument that destroys the family because it encourages spouses to have relations with other people which break Islamic sharia law, said al-Atrash, quoted by pan-Arab daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat.

He is the former head of the fatwa commission at Cairo's Al-Azhar University, one of the highest authorities in Sunni Islam.

"While one or other of the spouses is at work, the other is chatting online with someone else, wasting their time and flouting the Sharia.

"This endangers the Muslim family," said al-Atrash.

The fatwa followed the publication earlier this week of a study claiming one out of five of divorces in Egypt had been caused by liaisons begun on Facebook or other social networking sites.

Like satellite TV, social networking sites are a "double-edged sword", al-Atrash said.

"While they permit the spread of Islam, they allow people forbidden love and relations.

"That is why whoever uses such websites must be considered a sinner," he concluded.