Endowments Ministry revokes licenses of non-governmental religious institutions

The Endowments Ministry revoked all licenses given to religious institutes and cultural centers that are not administered by the ministry or Al-Azhar, a ministry statement said on Saturday.

The ministry also declared the launch of 19 new Islamic culture centers and institutes across the country. Salafis institutions will likely be most affected by the decision, with Al-Dostour private newspaper reporting the closure of 86 religious institutions considered by the authorities to be “hubs of terrorism.”

Local media reported that the only institutions targeted were Salafi ones. According to Al-Dostour, they were accused of insulting Al-Azhar, spreading extremist beliefs and attempting to "change the identity of the Egyptian people."

But Amr Ezzat, a researcher of religious affairs for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), tells Mada Masr that the decision applies to all religious institutes and is part of a general initiative by the Endowments Ministry to centralize cultural religious institutes and the messages they spread.

“I haven’t seen a source from the Endowments Ministry talking about the closure of Salafi institutes in a targeted way,” he says, adding that the media is focusing on Salafis because they may be most affected by the ministry’s decision.

Ezzat points out that the ministry’s move goes back to a decision in March 2014 stipulating that religious institutions must obtain new licences from Al-Azhar.

The Endowments Ministry has systematically attempted to strengthen its grip over religious discourse in the country following the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013. As part of the state’s conflict with the ousted organization, mosques have been the main battlefield of the crackdown by the ministry on the Brotherhood’s strong influence over the religious sphere.

Directly after his appointment as endowments minister in 2013, Mokhtar Gomaa decided to ban Friday sermons in mosques smaller than 80 meters, which are mostly controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood. He also revoked the licenses of over 50,000 imams and preachers giving Friday sermons in these mosques. The ministry also centralized religious discourse by ensuring that all mosques fall under the supervision of the ministry, making sure that all imams are licensed by the ministry.

In the same year, the ministry announced the unification the topics of Friday sermons nationwide, and started to publish a detailed outline of the sermons every week ahead of time. Ministry officials usually cited fears of spreading terrorism and extremist thoughts as the reason behind its policies.

The Endowments Ministry stated that revoking licenses is an important step toward stopping extremist and radical thought, reported Al-Dostour.

These Salafi institutions are largely blamed for deviating from Al-Azhar’s school of Islamic thought, and the decision came after meetings with representatives of the presidency.

Sabra al-Qasimi, the general coordinator of the Islamic Alliance to Renounce Violence, criticized the decision to Al-Dostour, saying that although the state is entrusted with ensuring that institutes remain on message, the closure of Salafi institutions will have serious consequences. He stated that these institutions were some of the best government centers for fighting extremism because they worked with the state to counter terrorism.

The Endowments Ministry told Mada Masr that it would not issue comments on the decision before the official press conference on Wednesday.

The closure of Salafi institutes may be a sign of increasing political isolation for the Salafis, despite the stance of their main political arm, the Nour Party, in supporting a military-backed roadmap following the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Salafis also endorsed President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in his presidential bid and actively promoted the newly passed constitution. The Nour Party was also among the frontrunners for the ongoing parliamentary elections but lost the race to the pro-state For the Love of Egypt electoral list.