CAIRO: Reacting to Al-Azhar’s support of an underground barrier along Egypt’s border with Gaza, Scholar Sheikh Youssef Al-Qaradawi deemed its construction a violation of Sharia because it is meant to “block all exit and entry points for Gazans.
“The construction of the steel wall is prohibited by Sharia, because the intention behind it is to . intensify the siege around Gazans, to humiliate them, to starve them and put pressure on them to kneel in surrender to Israel, Al-Qaradawi said in a press statement.
Earlier this week, the Islamic Research Center of Al-Azhar, the highest institution for Sunni Islam, headed by Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, issued a statement supporting the construction of the controversial iron wall, saying that it is in line with Islamic teachings as it is part of Egypt’s right to defend its territory.
Al-Azhar said that the tunnels were used to smuggle drugs and threatened Egypt’s security.
“It is Egypt’s legitimate right to erect barriers that would stop the damage caused by the tunnels linking Rafah to Gaza, Al-Azhar said in a statement to the press.
On the other hand, Al-Qaradawi said that the construction of the wall is “not permissible from an Arab perspective, because of Arab nationalism; it is not permissible from an Islamic perspective, because of Islamic brotherhood; and it is not permissible from a humanitarian perspective, because of human fraternity.
“Egypt must open the Rafah border crossing for Gazans, he continued, “because it is the only lung for them to breathe through. It is a religious and legal duty for Egypt not to suffocate the people of Gaza and collaborate in their murder.
Supporting Al-Qaradawi’s statements is the Islamic Action Front in Lebanon which condemned the construction of the iron wall saying, “The security, sovereignty and dignity of Egypt is never through cracking down on the besieged Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Such action helps the Zionist enemy to complete the unjust siege of one and a half million Arabs and Muslims in Gaza.
However, Sheikh Fawzy El-Zefzaf, head of the Religions Dialogue Committee at Al-Azhar, said that, “It is the religious obligation of a ruler to take all possible measures to protect his people and his country.
“The iron wall is built to protect Egypt from the underground activities that are going on that pose a threat to Egyptians, he said.
“The ones with their hands in water are not like those with their hands in fire, El-Zefzaf said, referring to the Islamic clerics who are issuing fatwas saying that the construction of the iron wall violates Islamic law.
Political analysts noted that there is a hidden agenda behind the fatwas. “This is a way to incite people against Egypt and it is taking advantage of religion in a political matter and a security issue, said Abdel Aleem Mohamed, political analyst at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.
“Religion should not be brought into this subject; it is inappropriate, he said, adding that just as there are fatwas that prohibit the wall, there are fatwas that support it. “The religious opinion will not have an effect on the issue, noted Mohamed.
