Islamic scholar advocates Egyptian unity

Yusuf al-Qaradawi, President of the World Federation of Muslim Scholars, met with residents of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Friday at a conference convened by Egypt’s ruling Muslim Brotherhood. Former Sudanese President Abdel Rahman Suwar al-Dahab accompanied the leading Egyptian Islamic theologian on his Sinai tour. Qaradawi emphasised the importance of fostering Egyptian unity following the January 25 revolution, which ousted former president Hosni Mubarak in 2011. He added that he was visiting Arish, the capital of North Sinai province, for the first time in 55 years. A number of Muslim scholars highlighted the centrality of the Sinai Peninsula, which borders the Gaza Strip, to ongoing political developments. Members of the Shura Council, Egypt’s legislative body, underlined the impossibility of disassociating Gaza from Egypt. Leading Muslim Brotherhood member Abdel Rahman al-Barr urged Egyptian businesspersons to further development projects in the Sinai Peninsula. Sheikh Abdel Salam Basiony, a member of the World Federation of Muslim Scholars, blamed Arab state armies for deteriorating conditions in the region. Basiony’s accusation aggravated local Sinai leader Ibrahim Adam, who affirmed that military effort and sacrifices liberated Sinai following the October War with Israel in 1973.