The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine and the preacher of the Al-Aqsa Mosqu has condemned the murder of the 21 Egyptian Copts in Libya.
His Eminence Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, the Grand Mufti, said, “This criminal assault is incompatible with religion and the noble moral values,” reported the International Shia News Agency Shafaqna English.
“It is but a form of spreading corruption in the land and the spirit of conflict and division between members of the Arab peoples,” he continued. “It aims at unsettling security and stability in the Arab and Muslim World and realizing suspicious goals of parties lying in wait for the Ummah along with its security and values. “
The group which carried out the criminal act, the religious leader described as “astray,” “without values and morals that divine religions call for.”
“Islam forbids any act that threatens the lives of safe and peaceful people,” the Grand Mufti underscored, noting that the religion upholds that the human soul is protected and honored, and that Islam is a religion of tolerance, peace, justice, and love.
The Islamic leader also reaffirmed his belief that Arab peoples will overcome this crisis with wisdom and perseverance to make those who target them with evil, chaos, and sectarian strife, miss their opportunity to realize such a criminal incident.
In addition, he presented his warm condolences to the Arab Republic of Egypt, its president, government and people, especially the Coptic community on this momentous calamity.
Pave the Way Foundation has “a warm and friendly relationship” with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, says Gary Krupp, who co-founded the foundation with his wife, Merry.
He told ZENIT that while in Israel, they met with the Grand Mufti on Feb 16. At that time, Krupp said, His Eminence gave Krupp his Fatwa condemning the murders of the Coptic Christians.
“The Mufti told me personally,” Krupp said, “that he went to the synagogue to express his condolences to the Rabbis on the murder of the Jews in France, he visited the Egyptian and Jordanian Embassies to offer his condolences on the murder of the Coptic Christians and the Jordanian pilot.”
Krupp lamented that although “the highest number of media personnel per capita in the world is in Jerusalem, not one person published this important story.” He explained that after Pave the Way had it translated and put it out, it was picked up by one Arabic paper with the full English translation.
Pave the Way Foundation is an organization dedicated to bridging the gap between religions and cultures through education and interreligious dialogue. According to their website, they “strive to eliminate the use of religion as a tool which, historically has been used, by some, to achieve personal agendas and to cause conflicts.”
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On the NET:
Pave the Way Foundation: http://www.ptwf.org/
