CAIRO: The Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Mohamed Sayyed Tantawi, said that Muslims can donate money for the construction of churches. He added in statements carried by Egyptian newspaper Youm al-Saba'a that Muslims can make voluntary contributions to build churches, pointing out that the church is a house for “worshipping and tolerance.” He also lashed out against naysayers, arguing in opposition to those who argue “building churches is a sort of sin.” Tantawi said this in a meeting with a delegation from the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) led by Naguib Gabriel, last Wednesday, that the Fatwa – Islamic edict – attributed to the Egyptian house of issuing fatwas, that “building churches is a sort of a sin, therefore a Muslim may not donate money for the Acts of Worship does not believe in monotheism” is wrong and untrue. The meeting also addressed the consequences of the recent controversial fatwa and its devastating effects on the “unity of the homeland.” Tantawi added that the issue of building churches must be left for the people of competence, who are the Chrisitians, and Muslims are not allowed by Sharia to interfere in other faiths, “because religion, faith and what a person believes in is a relationship between him and his god.” He added that “Sharia does not prevent Muslims from recommending building a church, as it is his free money, denying Azhar`s objection to the draft law of the common worship house law.” Tantawi also stressed during the meeting the strong relationship that he has with of all the Christians communities, led by Coptic Pope Shenouda III, which could be described as “relations of mutual love, affection and respect” and he added that he has always been “keen to visit bishops in [his] city of Suhag whenever he goes there.” **reporting by Mohamed Abdel Salam BM
