DUBAI - THE Gulf emirate of Dubai plans to appoint female muftis by the end of next year in an unprecedented step that could trigger opposition from Muslim conservatives, The National newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Six Emirati women are being selected for a training programme that starts early next year, the newspaper quoted the emirate's grand mufti Ahmed al-Haddad as saying.

He issued a religious edict or fatwa in February authorising women to become muftis and in May he called on qualified candidates to apply for a training programme that includes instruction in sharia law and legal thought.

'A woman who is learned and trained in issuing fatwas is not limited to her role of issuing fatwas that relate to women only, but rather she is qualified to issue on matters of worship, jurisprudence, morality and behaviour,' the paper quoted him as saying.

Mr Haddad played down the prospect of a major backlash from religious conservatives.

'The controversy over female muftis is not necessarily over this point, but about whether or not a woman should be appointed as the grand mufti of a state,' he said. 'And this is not what we're trying to do at this point.' -- AFP