The Egyptian Dar al-Ifta, an educational institute founded to represent Islam, warned on Monday against what it described as “the abominable seditious remarks which target Al-Azhar and its [Grand] Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb.” It added that those remarks were made by figures who have certain political affiliations. “Egypt's Dar al-Ifta has recently noticed that some people who are affiliated to Al-Azhar have made statements that go against Al-Azhar's approach,” Grand Mufti of Egypt Shawqi Allam said Monday in a statement. “This made a lot of people resort to Dar al-Ifta to inquire about the facts.” The Mufti explained that according to Dar al-Ifta, those who reject the approach of the Grand Sheikh and the other Al-Azhar scholars have partisan agendas, which cause them to be biased, and to issue libelous, seditious statements to serve their partisan interests. Egypt's Grand Mufti called on all Egyptians “not to listen to these eccentric voices” and prayed that God would guide all Egyptians to see the truth. Ahmed Omar Hashem, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, called on Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the head of the World Union of Muslim Scholars who is known for his ties and support for the Muslim Brotherhood, to rethink his stance and revise his remarks, taking into account the blood spilled and lives lost. Qaradawi issued a fatwa in which he said that supporting ousted President Mohamed Morsy was a ‘religious obligation' and called on Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to withdraw from the political scene. “Qaradawi will be accountable to God, not just to man, for what he says, and for the violence, extremism, and spilled blood he justifies in defense of the [the pro-Morsy] protesters....” Hashem told Al-Masry Al-Youm. Meanwhile, sources from al-Azhar said that Qaradawi's opinions do not justify cancelling his membership of the Council of Senior Scholars, because he did not commit any disgraceful act or deny one of the basics of religion. The sources denied that a date has been set for an emergency meeting for the Council of Senior Scholars to respond to Qaradawi or to cancel his membership. Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
