CAIRO: Minister of Religious Endowments Mahmoud Hamdy Zakzouk said that he will not invite any rabbis to the next International Islamic Conference in Cairo.
The conference is organized by the ministry and is expected to take place in March, Zakzouk said in a press conference Tuesday.
Zakzouk said that his decision came in reaction to “the massacre the Israeli occupation forces are committing in Gaza.
While he assured that he is “not against Judaism as a religion, he still opposes the ongoing Israeli assaults on Gaza.
Last week, news reports suggested that the Ministry of Religious Endowments had warned preachers on Thursday to avoid the conflict in their Friday sermons – a statement the minister strongly denies.
“On the contrary I think that Sheikhs must keep abreast of the current events that are taking place in the region, he said however adding that their sermons must be “governed by reason.
He cited the clashes that took place at the People s Assembly over the Gaza conflict – where a Muslim Brotherhood MP threatened a National Democratic party MP with a shoe – warning that such behavior “will not be tolerated inside mosques.
