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| “We do not accept anyone’s interference in our own business.” |
By
Subhi Mejahid, IOL Cairo correspondent
CAIRO,
April 14 (IslamOnline) – Dr. Mohammad Sayed Tantawi, the head of Al
Azhar University, said that he has prevented U.S. attempts to
interfere in the internal policies of Al Azhar, adding that the
university “will not allow any interference”.
Tantawi
was speaking to reporters about a conference that Al Azhar will hold
next Tuesday titled, “This is Islam”. He said that the U.S.
embassy sent an official letter to Al Azhar requesting that four of
its diplomats attend the conference.
“We
have agreed for them to attend since this conference is open for all,
but we will not allow any interference in the course of the conference
or in the final statement,” said Tantawi adding that the conference
final draft will focus on the Palestinian crisis.
Tantawi
stated that in the past, the United States sent a committee to be
familiarized with the Al Azhar curriculum, but the committee failed to
impose its opinion. “We told them that Al Azhar influences others
and is not influenced. We do not accept anyone to interfere in our own
business.”
The
conference is the 12th in a series held by the Islamic Research
Complex and aims at showing the peaceful aspects in Islam, which has
been under attack and has faced false accusations ever since the
September 11 attacks in New York.
Tantawi
said that it is the duty of all Muslims to defend their brothers in
Palestine who are suffering from the Zionist regime headed by Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Another
fatwa that also supported the martyr operations was that of prominent
Muslim scholar, Dr. Youssef Al Qaradawi who said: “The martyr
operation is the greatest of all sorts of jihad in the cause of Allah.
A martyr operation is carried out by a person who sacrifices himself,
deeming his life less value than striving in the cause of Allah, in
the cause of restoring the land and preserving dignity.”
Regarding
the U.S. bias towards Israel, Tantawi said that “We cooperate with
all those who cooperate with us and we are against those who harm
us.”
He
added that he supported the fatwa of boycotting American and Israeli
products which support Israel.
Speaking
to nearly 15,000 demonstrators on Friday, Tantawi announced that the
door for jihad is open for all the Islamic nation’s youth to defend
Islam and the land of Palestine. “Strength is life and weakness is
death,” he said.
The
demonstrators called for the door of jihad to be opened to Egyptian
youth who want to support the Palestinian intifada and called for the
cancellation of the military order which bans gathering donations.
They said this will allow them to support the intifada at least
financially.
