General Islamic issues and developments

The Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria said Copts’ votes went to Ahmad Shafīq, Hamdīn Sabbāhī and ‘Amr Mūsá, dismissing claims the church instructed its congregation to vote for a certain candidate. [Rajab Ramadān, al-Misrī al-Yawm, May 28, p. 4] Read original text in Arabic

In an announcement, the Grand Shaykh of the Azhar Dr. Ahmad al-Tayyīb and a number of Muslim scholars of the Islamic Research Academy as well as Jamā´at Ansār al-Sunnah al-Muhammadiyyah, al-Jama´iyyah al-Shari´iyyah, members of different Islamic streams and al-Da´wah al-Salafiyyah spoke out against Shi´ite places of worship in Egypt.

Furthermore, the establishment of a commission was decided on at a conference at the Azhar. This commission, headed by al-Tayyīb, is devise plans for missionary work, media outlets and cultural work in order to address “the Shi´ite tide which triggers sectarian disputes and harms Egyptian unity.”

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The Muslim Brotherhood set Egyptian politics ablaze with their decision to nominate their chief financier, Khairat al-Shātir, for the presidency. All political groups recognize the right of the group to do so but many have criticized them harshly, recalling their promise from early in the revolution.

The Higher Elections Commission (HEC) will announce tomorrow (April 25, 2012) the regulations for the civil society organizations authorized to monitor the electoral process including voting and vote-counting in the presidential elections.

Signs of confrontation between the HEC and the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) have started to emerge. The reason for the disagreement is about the MB's slogan “Islam is the solution” which the HEC has decided to ban.

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The Grand Shaykh of the Azhar Dr. Ahmad al-Tayyīb stressed that the Azhar reinforces pluralism and dialogue.

"The Azhar is the only institution that preserves Islamic identity, its culture and features among other civilizations and nations," says Dr. al-Tayyīb.

Presidential hopeful Dr. Muhammad Salīm al-‘Awwā said the the Holy Qur’ān can not be a Constitution for the nation but for believers, adding he is neither Shiite nor backed by Shiites because "we're in a Sunnī country". [Ibtisām Ta’lab, Misbāh al-Hajar and ‘Abdullah al-‘Arīnī, Al-Misrī al-Yawm, March 25, p. 3] Read original text in Arabic

Constitutional expert Dr. Muhammad Nūr Farahāt reiterated rejection of the draft law on Hadd al-Hirābah (punishment for brigandage) forwarded by Salafī Member of Parliament ‘Ādil al-‘Azzāzī of al-Nūr Party, saying the law will cause discrimination among the sons of one nation. ['Abīr Mursī, al-Ahrām, March 16, p. 7] Read original text in Arabic

Dr. Nājih Ibrāhīm, a key founder of the Jamā’ah Islāmīyah in Egypt and the first chairman of its shūrá (consultative) council, offered an apology to Copts for “what has befallen them as a result of the Jamā’ah’s mistakes during the 1970s and 1980s”. [Robeir al-Fāris, Watanī, March 4, p. 5] Read original text in Arabic

A fact-finding commission sent by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) to investigate the sectarian unrest in the troubled district of al-'Āmrīyah, Alexandria, revealed that the Christian families forced to leave their homes and property after clashes over a purported love affair between a Muslim woman and a Christian man are now residing in Muslims' houses in the area of al-Huwayjī. [Nādyah Mutāwa' and 'Abd al-Wahāb Sha'bān, al-Wafd, Feb. 15, p. 1] Read original text in Arabic