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Al Azhar Sheikh Performs Prayers at Rawda Mosque

Grand al-Azhar Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb – Mohamed Abdel Ghani / Reuters
Grand al-Azhar Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb – Mohamed Abdel Ghani / Reuters
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Al Azhar Sheikh Performs Prayers at Rawda Mosque

Grand al-Azhar Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb – Mohamed Abdel Ghani / Reuters
Grand al-Azhar Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb – Mohamed Abdel Ghani / Reuters

The Grand Sheikh Al-Azhar Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, in a remarkable gesture, led the worshipers at Al-Rawdah Mosque in the city of Bir al-Abed (North Sinai), which was the scene of a bloody massacre during Friday prayers last week that killed more than 300 people and injured many others.

The Gand Sheikh of Al-Azhar performed the Friday prayers, accompanied by the Egyptian Endowments Minister, Mokhtar Gomaa, and the Grand Mufti, Shawky Allam.

This comes a week after the mosque witnessed a massive terrorist attack, which killed 310 worshippers and injured over 120 others.

Observers said that the visit of Al-Azhar Sheikh, along with a number of government officials, was “an important message of the country’s solidarity against terrorism and an emphasis on the union of the people and institutions in the face of groups that target the security of the Egyptians and their lives.”

Addressing the residents of the village following the prayers, Al-Tayeb said: “We are here to affirm that the whole country feels what you feel, and senses your pain; Al-Azhar came to you with his elders, sons and daughters to comfort you and relieve you of your afflictions and put his hand in your hands for the revival of this village.”

The Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) had completed the renovation and restoration of the mosque to allow the performance of prayers on Friday.

“The village came out Friday to pray in and out of the mosque in order to emphasize that we are facing terrorism and we are not afraid of the bullets of terrorists,” said Mohammed Jarir, resident in the village of Rawda.

Al-Tayeb, accompanied by a delegation of women from Al-Azhar University, also visited the families of the victims of the terrorist attack. During his visit, Tayeb expressed his sincere condolences to the families of “martyrs of the treacherous criminal incident.”

The Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar decided to grant a monthly pension for widows and needy from the House of Zakat, exempt the students of the village from the expenses of tuition until the completion of the university, and provide Hajj pilgrimage trips for widows next year at the expense of Al-Azhar.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.