CAIRO: On the first day of Eid al-Adha, Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) head Field Marshal Hussein Tantawy and Prime Minister Essam Sharaf prayed the Eid Prayer at the Armed Forces Mosque in Heliopolis. Egypt's Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa led the worshipers in the Eid Prayer. Minister of Interior Mansour el-Issawy was at the mosque at 6:00am, Maj. Gen. Hamdi Badeen came at 6:05, then head of the Air Force Lieutenant General Reda Hafiz, Mufti Ali Gomaa, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed el-Tayeb and then Cairo Governor Abdel Qawy Khaleifa. Field Marshal Tantawy arrived at the mosque at 6:30 am, where Maj. Gen. Sami Anan and head of the Military Academy Maj. Gen. Essmat Morad preceded him. More than 1,000 soldiers and officers were present outside the mosque, while worshipers continued to flow to the mosque to pray. The three mobile phone networks were cut inside the mosque until the state leaders left after the prayer. Through his sermon, Mufti Ali Gomaa called on the worshipers to pray for Egypt. It is worth mentioning that the SCAF, Egytp's ruling military council, congratulated Egyptians on the occasion of Eid al-Adha through a statement released on the council's Facebook page, communiqué No. 80. The statement said, “The head, members, officers and soldiers of the SCAF are congratulating Egyptians on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. May God bless Egypt and Egyptians.” It is also mentioned that thousands of worshipers prayed at Al-Azhar Mosque, where the second Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Mohamed Marzouk, led them in the prayer. There were no electoral publications or posters or any partisan platforms outside the mosque. Only one Central Security vehicle and a fire truck were present. The sermon at Al-Azhar Mosque stressed on the importance of spreading love and kind spirits among the people. In remarks to Youm7, Marzouk focused on the importance of following the famous say of Sheikh el-Shaarawy: “The right revolutionary is the one who revolts to destroy corruption and then calms down to build the glories.” There were some platforms inside Al-Azhar Mosque calling to respect Al-Azhar and its members and scholars. There were some Arab and Islamic communities inside Al-Azhar Mosque who expressed their happiness with Eid al-Adha and took pictures. Arabic here. Arabic here. Arabic here.
