CAIRO: The leading Sunni Islam figure, Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Mohamed Sayyed Tantawi has lashed out at media, saying that his comments reported on Monday, saying Muslims can donate money for the construction of Christian churches, was “misinterpreted” and only “Christians can donate” for this sort of effort. Reports on his statements had initially sparked widespread support for the often embattled religious leader, who had apparently bucked a conservative trend by supporting inter-religious action. But it appears the country's optimism was short-lived, as Tantawi retracted his “misinterpreted” statements. Tantawi reportedly 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 had been responding to a fatwa – Islamic edict – attributed to the Egyptian House for the Issuance of Fatwas, that “building churches is a sin, therefore a Muslim may not donate money for the acts of worship that does not believe in monotheism.” Ironically, this fatwa does not single out Christianity, as Islam recognizes the faith as one of the three Religions of the Book, including Judaism. The controversy has resulted in Tantawi`s retraction to correct what he described as “misinterpreted statements” and stressed that his remarks were misunderstood and that he “meant the donation of ‘Christians' for building of churches and not Muslims.” Tantawi said that he did not criticize the fatwa. He added that he did not discuss the matter during a meeting with a delegation from the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) led by Naguib Gobriel and that he only spoke of the possibility for “any person to donate” for constructing any house of worship. The Al-Azhar chief continued, arguing that it is forbidden for a person to donate money for the construction of “sinful” places, such as bars and nightclubs. Egyptian newspaper al-Dustour reported that well-informed sources called the Sheikh of Azhar and Grand Mufti Ali Goma'a to resolve the crisis raised over the fatwa “in order to avoid any sectarian strife or an inconsistency between Al-Azhar and the fatwa organization.” In related news, Naguib Gobriel reported that he has a recording of the meeting with the Sheikh and claims that Tantawi said a Muslim can donate for the construction of churches. Gabriel added that when those at the meeting asked the Sheikh whether this is his own personal opinion or this is the Islamic view, Tantawi said it is the “Islamic Sharia view.” Tantawi also pointed out during the meeting that the building of churches is not a sin, calling on the Mufti to hold the signatories of the fatwa accountable. **reporting by Mohamed Abdel Salam BM
