"Under no circumstances are women qualified to be heads of state", Muhammad Al-Musayyar, Al-Azhar University scholar, said in a debate, aired on Al-Arabiya TV. "Being male is a condition for heading a state, because a president is a kind of imam, and the position of imam is restricted to men. Also, the ruler may have to be present in circumstances forbidden to women, such as private meetings with men."

Another scholar from Al-Azhar University, Su'ad Saleh, differentiated between a woman in the position of head of state and betwenn a woman in the position of caliph: "These days, the [Arab] regimes are nothing like the Islamic Caliphate. The Islamic countries are mini-states. These countries are subject to the system of free elections. They are subject to a constitution, which regulates the politics, and to legislative, parliamentary, and legal institutions, and so on. So the choice is in the hands of the people – men and women alike. [...] In other words, women are forbidden from serving as caliphs and imams, but with regard to the position of head of state, a position which today is subject to parliamentary regulations, to a constitution, and to elections – gender has nothing to do with this."

Sources: Free Muslim Coalition, Somalinet.com