(AFP Photo / Gianluigi Guercia)
By Nourhan Fahmy
Grand Mufti of Egypt Shawky Allam will be in London on 5 December to speak, as a “leading religious figure”, against youth radicalisation.
Allam will appear alongside former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, at the event organised by the UK Independence Party (UKIP), according the webpage of Amjad Bashir, a member of the European Parliament (MEP) for UKIP.
Several other religious leaders from around the world are expected to take part in the conference. Its aim is to remind young people “of the teachings of their religion, and developing strategies for combating religious intolerance”, according to Bashir’s webpage.
Arrangements to secure a prominent member of the Jewish community are currently underway. Guests in the audience, which is anticipated to include MPs, MEPs and diplomats, will have an opportunity to ask questions after the speeches.
The Egyptian Revolutionary Council, an opposition group based outside Egypt, expressed concern about the Mufti’s expected visit and asked for the invitation to be revoked, a Tuesday press release said.
“Al-Azhar, which the Mufti represents, did not condemn the killing taking place at the hands of Egyptian security forces, in fact it went so far as to condone it,” the Revolutionary Council said, referring to the deaths of pro-Morsi supporters in various parts of Egypt following the president’s overthrow in July 2013.
The organisation also called for imposing a” travel ban on Mufti Allam entering the UK and international legal action should be taken against him”.
It further levelled a number of accusations against the “coup”, stating that it “spread destruction and fear through the land and kidnapped Dr Mohamed Morsi, the elected president.”
