France slaying angers Egypt’s religious institutions

Mustafa Kamel

Egypt’s official religious institutions have condemned the latest slaying of a French teacher after he showed his pupils pictures criticizing Prophet Muhammad.

The teacher was beheaded by a Chechen student in northwestern France on October 16 after he showed his pupils the pictures which were run in the French Charlie Hebdo magazine.

Nevertheless, the incident is unifying Egypt’s official religious institutions, including al-Azhar and the League of Islamic World.

They said killing is a crime that cannot be justified under any conditions. The same institutions called for abiding by the manners of the Islamic religion which highlight respect for the beliefs of other people.

Crime

Al-Azhar issued a statement, in which it described the incident as a crime. It said it opposed all these acts, noting that killing cannot be justified under any conditions.

Al-Azhar renewed its calls for renouncing violence and the hate speech in all its forms.

“There is an urgent need for respecting the beliefs of others,” al-Azhar said. “There is an urgent need also for renouncing the hate speech,” it added.

Protection of lives

The Egyptian Dar al-Iftaa also condemned the attack. It said it is a flagrant violation of the teachings of the Islamic religion.

“There is no justification for such works,” Dar al-Iftaa said. “Islam calls for the protection of lives.”

Egyptian Mufti Shawqi Allam called on the French government to blame Islam and Muslims for the mistakes made by extremists.

This crime, he said, has to be dealt with as an individual mistake.

Allam called for enforcing laws against hatred so that those who demonize the beliefs of others.