CAIRO: Sunnis should reconsider their “hard-line stance towards their Shiite brothers” as coexistence amongst Muslims is a “necessity of life and a legitimate interest” in light of international changes, Al-Azhar Observer said Friday.
Coinciding with the Day of Ashura, in which Shiites commemorate the killing of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Mohamed, Al-Azhar Observer said that Shiites “are as keen and on the [Islamic] faith, as committed to the religion and loyal to the [Muslim] nation.”
“Peaceful coexistence can only be achieved with equality between citizens of the [Muslim] nation in rights, duties and opportunities,” Al-Azhar Observer said, calling for accepting diversity and tolerance in a statement.
Al-Azhar’s call for tolerance met with ban on Shiite rituals
Despite Al-Azhar Observer’s stance, the Endowment Ministry closed the Imam Hussein shrine at its famous mosque in Cairo to prevent “Shiite fallacies” on the Day of Ashura.
The closure is due to “the Shiite rituals that have no basis in Islam that might occur, and the problems that may result,” the Endowment Ministry statement read, referring to possible violent reactions by anti-Shiite citizens. Shiite rituals on Imam Hussein’s memory include self-flagellation, a tradition that has been condemned by Sunni scholars and some Shiite leaders.
Although senior officials at the Endowment Ministry descend from Al-Azhar, the ministry is independent from Al-Azhar.
Independence of the most prestigious Islamic institution
Al-Azhar Observer also called on Shiites to take Sunni feelings into account by “preventing any offense towards the companions of the Prophet, which may come from an ignorant or tendentious person.”
Al-Azhar’s independence was under fire in June, when Wikileaks cables on the Saudi Foreign Ministry purportedly revealed that Al-Azhar requested Riyadh’s opinion on a meeting pressured for by Tehran on rapprochement between Sunnis and Shiites.
Established in 970, Al-Azhar denied receiving “any guidance from any entity or state.”
Al-Azhar’s undersecretary Abbas Shouman told reporters it “coordinates with Islamic countries over Islam-related issues in order to avoid issuing opinions unsuitable in other countries in the Islamic world; despite Al-Azhar’s internationality, it refuses to be the custodian of a person, a group or a state.”
Egypt in regional conflicts
“No sensible person doubts that the chaos and conflict within the nation impairs its ability to face stormy challenges and leaves room for enemies to play with the cards of this conflict,” Al-Azhar Observer statement read.
“Thus, extending the hand of cooperation and alliance between Sunnis and Shite and other Islamic schools is one of the priorities of reason and Islamic law.”
Sunni-Shiite sectarianism is perceived as one of the factors behind fierce battles in Syria, Iraq and Yemen; the fights include several regional and international parties that back different sides in the conflicts.
Egypt is part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Shiite Houthis in Yemen; unlike Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, Egypt’s participation is limited to naval and air forces, according to official statements.
Meanwhile in Syria, Egypt supports the Russian intervention in the country.
Tehran’s and Cairo’s views are “very close” over many regional issues, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told Alrai newspaper Oct 14.
“If you look at the Iranian foreign policy, you will see that we have not sought to eliminate the role of any country in the region. But some states unfortunately tried to eliminate Iran’s role, and we told them they cannot,” the Kuwaiti newspaper quoted Zarif as saying.
“Iran is part of the problem and cannot be part of the solution,” Saudi foreign ministers have said since the Syrian crisis began in 2011; a statement that was most recently made by Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir Oct. 22 to Al-Arabiya channel.