France slaying angers Egypt's religious institutions
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.
