“The legitimacy of the mission of taking care of Muslim affairs in Egypt is outlined by the law and confirmed by the historical role of the Azhar, which extends to more than 1,000 years in the past,” said the Azhar’s Islamic Research Academy in a statement after an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday (January 4) under Grand Shaykh of the Azhar and the academy chief Dr. Ahmad al-Tayyīb.
The Azhar reiterated its refusal of any organizations that would clash with it in its religious and da’wah (call) message.
The Azhar also said that the establishment of this commission would be in violation of the Azhar’s role and would clash with the state’s legislative, executive and judicial powers. [Author Not Mentioned, al-Ahrām, Jan. 5, p. 14] Read original text in Arabic
[Reviewer’s Note: A report of the same content was mentioned in al-Akhbār, page 3, January 5, 2012] The article has no link online
Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III received Shaykh Tayyīb at the St. Mark Cathedral in the Cairo district of al-‘Abbāssīyah, where Tayyīb and a delegation of Azhar scholars offered greetings for the Copts of Egypt and the Pope over the Coptic Christmas on January 7.
Dr. Tayyīb expressed hope that peace and tranquility would prevail in Egypt with the advent of the Coptic Christmas, asserting that the unity of Copts and Muslims resembles an “impregnable fence against attempts to sow the seeds of strife and shake Egypt’s stability in this critical transitional period”.
The Maspero Youth Union staged a stand of protest off the side gate of the cathedral and raised placards reading “Lā Tahānī Qabl Muhāsabat al-Jānī,” or “No Greetings Prior to Bringing Perpetrators to Justice”. [Ashraf Sādiq, Usāmah Siddīq and ‘Alā’ al-Dīn Sālim, al-Ahrām, Jan. 5, p. 3] read original text in Arabic
[Reviewer’s Note: A report of the same content was mentioned in al-Shurūq al-Jadīd, page 3, January 5, 2012] The article has no link online
Minister of Interior Muhammad Ibrāhīm sent a congratulatory cable to Pope Shenouda on the occasion of the Coptic Christmas.
Ibrāhīm sent similar cables to Dr. Safwat al-Bayyādī, Head of the Evangelical Community Council in Egypt, and senior ministry officials, officers, constables, conscripts and sentinels. [Author Not Mentioned, al-Ahrām, Jan. 5, p. 14] Read original text in Arabic
The Islamic Legitimate Body of Rights and Reformation (ILBRR) said that Muslims should not congratulate non-Muslims on their religious occasions but approved congratulations to non-Muslims over worldly affairs like the birth of a child, marriage or condolences. [‘Abd al-Rahman Abū ‘Awf, al-Dustūr, Jan. 5, p. 3] Read original text in Arabic
Meanwhile, the Azhar’s Islamic Research Academy approved in a meeting on Wednesday, January 4, 2012, amendments to the law on the Azhar, including the retirement of the Grand Shaykh at the age of 80 or upon his request.
Grand Shaykh Dr. Tayyīb, during the three-hour session, was in favor to have the retirement age set at the age of 70 but most of the academy members refused. [Author Not Mentioned, al-Akhbār, Jan. 5, p. 3] Read original text in Arabic
On the other hand, political parties traded accusations on the second day of the third round of Egypt’s People’s Assembly elections on Wednesday, January 4, 2012, as leaflets handed out in the western Egypt governorate of Mersa Matrouh judged that anyone voting for the liberal Egyptian Bloc would be considered kāfir (infidel in Islam).
Sources said the leaflets were most probably handed out by the Ansār al-Sunnah al-Muhammadīyah (Supporters of the Prophet Muhammad’s Tradition) group.
Striking back with another leaflet, the Free Egyptians Party (FEP) criticized the use of religion in propaganda and lodged a complaint against the Salafī al-Nūr (Light) Party, accusing it of violating the ban on electoral campaigning prior to voting.
For its part, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood group, (Arabic site) (English site) accused several parties of using weapons, including machine-guns, to prevent arrival of voters and the FJP’s representatives to the polling stations in more than one place in the Upper Egyptian governorate of al-Minya. [Author Not Mentioned, al-Misrī al-Yawm, Jan. 5, p. 1] Read original text in Arabic
Furthermore, Pope Shenouda, in an interview to al-Akhbār on the occasion of the Coptic Christmas on January 7, said Egypt has never known fanaticism, adding all groups within the society must come together as united entity for the good of the nation through amity and sound understanding.
“There is common ground for coexistence among the different religions. Anger would not settle anything,” said Pope Shenouda.
He added that he was in favor of having pious politics but never politician clergymen, noting democracy means respectful exchange of opinions and views, not insults and offense. [Sanā’ al-Sa’īd, al-Akhbār, Jan. 5, p. 12] Read originl text in Arabic
