Egypt’s Grand Mufti calls on citizens to vote in referendum

Egypt’s Grand Mufti, Shawky Allam, called on citizens to vote in the upcoming referendum and to ignore claims that the draft constitution contradicts Sharia. He also stressed that Dar al-Iftaa will not be drawn into political issues.

Allam is the head of the Dar al-Iftaa Institute, which plays a primary role in the issuance of religious edicts and providing expert advice on judiciary matters.

In a conference held Sunday to present Dar al-Iftaa’s achievements for the year 2013, Allam said that the Islamic project includes Muslims and non-Muslims, as well as all the state’s factions and ideologies, the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported.

His reference to the draft constitution and Sharia follows the controversy over whether or not Sharia would be included in the draft document. The 50-member committee tasked with amending the constitution had removed Article 219.

The article stipulated a strict implementation of Sharia, as articulated in the 2012 Constitution drafted by an Islamist-dominated constitutional committee.

The 2013 preamble reaffirms a softer explanation of the principles of Sharia, as acknowledged by the Supreme Constitutional Court in 1985. 

The committee kept Article 2, which states that the principles of Sharia are the main source of legislation.

Allam maintained that his institute will only be biased towards the people’s interest and called for an end to the current bloodshed and for peaceful co-existence.

During the conference, Ahmed al-Moslemany, presidential media adviser, expressed concern that those who fail to ignite a war against Islam may succeed in “waging a war within Islam.”

Moslemany added that the west, “which is tapping phone calls all over the world,” is turning a blind eye to those seeking to destroy the Egyptian state and ignite a war. He accusing these opponents of serving foreign agendas.

At the conference, Allam said that Dar al-Iftaa issued 500,000 edicts, in nine languages, in 2013. The institute also seeks to improve Islam’s image in the west by taking part in dialogues and publishing articles in major publications, he said.