In Egypt, ‘3000 extremist fatwas’ incite destruction of churches

Egypt's official religious institution tasked with drafting edicts has found 3,000 fatwas (religious edicts) issued by extremists that incite the destruction of churches in the country, Egypt’s Grand Mufti, Dr. Shawki Allam, said on Friday.

Dr. Allam rejected the existence of these fatwas, saying: “human diversity is inevitable and divine … the oppression of religions is rejected by law because human relations are a divine formula to achieve coexistence and renounce discord.”

The extremist fatwas rejected coexistence between Muslims and Christians in Egypt.

Towards the end of 2016, 25 people were killed and 31 wounded in an explosion that targeted the Cathedral of Saint Mark in the Abbasia district in Cairo.

A nun cries as she stands at the scene inside Cairo's Coptic cathedral, following a bombing, in Egypt December 11, 2016. REUTERS

The Mufti said that “all attempts aiming to divide between the Muslims and Christians of Egypt have failed.”

He added: “Muslims had never destroyed any kind of heritage after their historic victories in foreign countries, in contrary to what ISIS and other extremists are doing now.”

He said that they have also found “fatwas inciting the demolition of Cairo and Giza heritage sites, in an explicit violation to the way Islam deals with heritage.”