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An Egyptian court reverses order to stop the popular 'Tahrir Imam,' Mazhar Shahin from leading prayers deemed anti-Brotherhood
[Al Ahram] Egypt's administrative Disciplinary Court halts an order to suspend Sheikh Mazhar Shahin, who is well-known for leading prayers in Cairo's Tahrir Square during and after Egypt's 18-day uprising in 2011.Earlier in April, Shahin was suspended as imam (Islamic leader) of Omar Makram Mosque in Tahrir by Egypt's ministry of endowments (also known as awqaf, a body responsible for overseeing imams). The charges against him included criticising President Mohamed Morsi and the Moslem Brüderbund. The 34-year-old imam revealed that the complaint against him reads that he acted like "a TV station or opposition paper" during his Friday sermons. Shahin had been warning of the Brotherhood's monopoly of state institutions before the order to suspend him. Despite the order, Shahin defiantly led the Friday prayers in his mosque on 12 April declaring that he "will continue to speak the truth and will not become a hypocrite in order to satisfy a minister, ruler or group." The Disciplinary Court's cancellation of the endowment ministry's order, however, annuls any consequences of the suspension, even including any salary withheld. Posted by: Fred 2013-04-30 |
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