Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Dr. Mohamed Sayed Tantawi said that there is no Shiite intrusion in Egypt, because it is a Sunni State that respects the prophet's companions and family. He rejected indicating Shiite or Sunni on ID cards, describing it as nonsense. During his visit to Dakahlia, Tantawi also rejected the recent fatwa that prohibits joining the Islamic groups, saying that everyone is free to do what they like. He also rejected any law that criminalizes the issuing of fatwa without permit. “I cannot buckle tongues. Everyone is responsible for their fatwa. If it is a right fatwa, I will praise it, and if it is wrong, I will refute it. But I cannot pass a law that prevents people from expressing their opinions,” he said. On the other hand, Minister of Religious Endowments Dr. Mahmoud Zaqzouq, who was accompanying Tantawi during the visit, approved such a law. “Everyone is issuing fatwa, especially the so-called satellite channel scholars. Such law must pass quickly so as to deter these people from luring Muslims away from fundamental issues into trivialities,” he said. He added that the religious discourse of the imams is being developed, and that there is a shortage in imams, as the ministry has 103,000 mosques, while there are only 50,000 imams.
Yet he rejected unifying the Friday speech in all mosques, saying: “This is impossible, as each imam has the right to choose the topic that suits his audience. We cannot talk to the people of low class districts in the same way we address the upper class districts, as they have different problems.”
