Several political movements, among them the Civic Movement for the Liberation of al Azhar, the Free Front for Peaceful Change and the Alliance of Revolutionary Forces
Several political movements, among them the Civic Movement for the Liberation of al Azhar, the Free Front for Peaceful Change and the Alliance of Revolutionary Forces, declared their rejection of the recent appointment of hardline Islamists to leading positions at al-Azhar and the Ministry of Awqaf.
Several members of the Salafi Development and Construction Party were recently appointed to leading management positions in the ministry, which is concerned with Islamic endowments, and to the venerable institution of al-Azhar which was founded in the 10th century and is today a bastion of moderate Islam. The appointments were made by the new Awqaf Minister Talaat Afifi, himself a hardliner, to replace moderate figures with radical Salafis.
The appointments, the political movements said, reflect intentions of moving away from moderation in Islam to extremism; from the traditionally tolerant Azhar to which the State looked as a reference in all religious-related matters, to a Wahabbi reference.
These political movements announced they will be holding a demonstration tomorrow, Sunday 9 September, in front of the Awqaf Ministry to renounce and denounce this attempt to change the moderate Azhar into a radical institution along Salafi lines.
WATANI International
8 September 2012