CAIRO: Egypt’s Islamic Research Academy of Al-Azhar, the Sunni Muslim world’s foremost religious institution, has set up booths in Cairo metro stations to give religious edicts to citizens in an attempt to “correct misconceptions and radical ideologies.”
In a Thursday statement, the academy’s Secretary General Mohi el-Din Afifi said the move comes to enhance the spirit of belonging to the country and to dispel misinterpretations of Qur’anic verses and religious texts.
Rights activist Gamal Eid expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of these booths, saying other measures including fighting corruption and upholding freedoms should be prioritized.
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi has repeatedly blamed what he believes to be the outdated religious discourse for rising Islamic militancy and has been calling for “modernization of religious discourse” since he took office in 2014.
Egypt academy sets up religious edict booths in Cairo metro stations
Egypt academy sets up religious edict booths in Cairo metro stations
Israel agrees to ‘limited reopening’ of Rafah crossing: PM’s office
- The announcement came after visiting US envoys reportedly pressed Israeli officials to reopen the crossing, a vital entry point for aid into Gaza
JERUSALEM: Israel said Monday it would allow a “limited reopening” of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt once it had recovered the remains of the last hostage in the Palestinian territory.
The announcement came after visiting US envoys reportedly pressed Israeli officials to reopen the crossing, a vital entry point for aid into Gaza.
Reopening Rafah forms part of a Gaza truce framework announced by US President Donald Trump in October, but the crossing has remained closed after Israeli forces took control of it during the war.
The Israeli military also said it was searching a cemetery in the Gaza Strip on Sunday for the remains of the last hostage, Ran Gvili, a non-commissioned officer in the police’s elite Yassam unit.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the reopening would depend on “the return of all living hostages and a 100 percent effort by Hamas to locate and return all deceased hostages,” Netanyahu’s office said on X.
It said Israel’s military was “currently conducting a focused operation to exhaust all of the intelligence that has been gathered in the effort to locate and return” Gvili’s body.
“Upon completion of this operation, and in accordance with what has been agreed upon with the US, Israel will open the Rafah Crossing,” it said.
