Sheikh Mohamed el-Shahawi, chairman of the committee managing the Supreme Council of Sufi Orders, said the State Security Investigation sent invitations to the Sufi Sheikhs to attend the activities of US President Barack Obama's visit to Cairo. Speaking to Al-Masry Al-Youm, el-Shahawi said the SSI summoned him yesterday morning to receive invitations signed by Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh.
The invitations are extended to seven Sufi Sheikhs; Mohamed Alaa Eddin Madi Abul Azaim, Mohammed Gamil Bekheit, Salim el-Gazuly, Ahmed Tijani, Mohammad el-Habiba, and Mohamed Ali Ashour. Two Sheikhs are expected to apologize; Bekheit for health-related reasons and Tijani for attending the man of world peace conference in the US. El-Shahawi expressed optimism over such a step, saying the invitations are tantamount to a spirit of hope for the Sufi Orders. They can revive once again among the other religious institutions after they were marginalized for a long period of time; they are among the most important institutions that are directly affiliated to the Presidency. In addition, 15 million people follow 77 Sufi Orders. The committee will compile a report including its comments on Obama's speech to the Muslim world. It will call on the state to help Sufi Orders build bridges of cooperation with the West, especially after Islamic Sufism became the focus of the developed countries' policies to open dialogues with the Islamic world, el-Shahawi said, noting that the Sufi Orders participated in several conferences in the United States and Germany. In a related context, well-informed sources from within the "dissolved" Supreme Council of Sufi Orders told Al-Masry Al-Youm that neither the council nor Abdel Hadi al-Qasabi, one of those who vie for the council's chairmanship, received an invitation.
