El-ARISH, Egypt, April 20, 2018 (MENA) – The Islamic Sharia calls for the protection of homeland as being one of the pillars of our beliefs, Egyptian Awqaf Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa asserted on Friday. Delivering Friday sermon at a mosque in Arish, in North Sinai, Gomaa said that the homeland's protection is a religious and national duty. Also, he hailed the strong resolve and will of army and police personnel to purge Sinai from terrorists. All scholars, writers, journalists and tribal elders play a role in the ongoing comprehensive counter-terrorism Operation Sinai 2018 through combating the extremist thought, he noted.