Members of The Islamic Research Center at al-Azhar University issued a statement in support of the Grand Imam's handshake with Israeli president Shimon Peres in a U.N. sponsored religious dialogue, which stirred outrage in Egypt and triggered calls for the Imam's dismissal.
| "The lawsuit was based on the violation of Article 30 - Clause B of al-Azhar's law by acting in a way that belittled his standing as a venerated Muslim scholar." |
The statement came in the wake of a legal notice filed by an Egyptian lawyer calling on scholars of the center to use their authority to drop the membership of Sheikh Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi since the handshake was constituted a violation of his duties as a Muslim scholar. This automatically entails his dismissal from the position as Grand Imam. "The lawsuit was based on the violation of Article 30 - Clause B of al-Azhar's law by acting in a way that belittled his standing as a venerated Muslim scholar," Essam Sultan, the lawyer who filed the suit and member of al-Wasat party told AlArabiya.net.
"His irresponsible stance violated all al-Azhar laws, which criminalize dealing with Israel," he said. "And his appearance in a TV interview declaring that he does not care about an issue as important as the siege of Gaza proves his indifference towards what's happening in the Muslim world." |