On the first day of this year, Egypt s Grand Mufti Shawki Allam rang in 2018 with a sternly worded fatwa (religious edict) that Bitcoin trades lead its users to “fraud, betrayal and ignorance”.
Allam also said that terrorist and criminal groups can abuse the crypto-currency to fund their illicit activities such as moving drugs and weapons. Last month, a team of Australian researchers found that nearly half of bitcoin trades they tracked over the past decade were used for illegal activities. Egypt s Grand Mufti is the highest official of Islamic law in Egypt and issues legal opinions, fatwas and interpretations of Islamic jurisprudence.
“Bitcoin is like all other currencies so what are the reasons that have suddenly made it so unlawful” said Atef Al Khateeb, a Cairo based Bitcoin trader who has set up a Facebook group to discuss the finer points of crypto-currencies and to help other new traders understand how to invest their money.
