Religious Conference in Cairo Warns of Extremist Groups' Comeback

The religious conference in Cairo “Nation-building in Islamic Jurisprudence." Asharq Al-Awsat
The religious conference in Cairo “Nation-building in Islamic Jurisprudence." Asharq Al-Awsat
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Religious Conference in Cairo Warns of Extremist Groups' Comeback

The religious conference in Cairo “Nation-building in Islamic Jurisprudence." Asharq Al-Awsat
The religious conference in Cairo “Nation-building in Islamic Jurisprudence." Asharq Al-Awsat

Representatives of 50 states have warned at a religious conference in Cairo that extremist groups are seeking to reorganize in more than 55 countries

The conference was organized by the Egyptian Ministry of Awqaf in Cairo under the theme “Nation-building in Islamic Jurisprudence” and under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the presence of 500 personalities including 50 muftis, scholars and ministers from across the world.

Participants at the 30th International Conference of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs said that its aim is to combat extremism.

Representing Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli, Minister of Endowments Mohammed Mokhtar Jomaa said in his inaugural speech that the state’s power also means the power of the people, the country, and the nation.

Jomaa stressed that extremist groups rise from the ruins of the state, and their personal interest tops that of the country.

Dr. Nazeer Mohamed Ayyad, Secretary-General of the Islamic Research Institute, said in his speech as a representative of Grand Imam Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb that coexistence is based on justice, safety and equality among society’s individuals regardless of their sects and beliefs.

Ayyad added that Islamic history is rich in events and incidents that prove equality and respect for everyone.

Further, Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance Sheikh Dr. Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh said that the conference’s theme comes at a delicate time in the nation’s history due to the fabricated information and misconceptions promoted by extremist terrorist groups.

Al-Sheikh extended thanks to Sisi for his sincere defense of the country against terrorists.

Egyptian Grand Mufti Shawki Allam affirmed that the Prophet Mohammed set the 'Charter of Medina' to reinforce coextensive and tolerance. He then started building the state economically and militarily. Then enemies started to spread rumors against the state, similar to terrorist extremist groups nowadays.

Lebanon's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Darian said: “Our mission is to back security and stability and the only way to achieve this is through the state.”

Mauritanian Minister of Islamic Affairs and Original Education Dah Ould Sidi Ould Amar Taleb asserted that state building hinges on education, work, morals and love for nations.



Hamas Official Says Group ‘Appreciates’ Lebanon’s Right to Reach Agreement

 A man walks next to a destroyed building in Beirut's southern suburbs on November 27, 2024, as people returned to the area to check their homes after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
A man walks next to a destroyed building in Beirut's southern suburbs on November 27, 2024, as people returned to the area to check their homes after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
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Hamas Official Says Group ‘Appreciates’ Lebanon’s Right to Reach Agreement

 A man walks next to a destroyed building in Beirut's southern suburbs on November 27, 2024, as people returned to the area to check their homes after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
A man walks next to a destroyed building in Beirut's southern suburbs on November 27, 2024, as people returned to the area to check their homes after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Wednesday the group "appreciates" Lebanon's right to reach an agreement that protects its people and it hopes for a deal to end the war in Gaza.

A ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement came into effect on Wednesday after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the United States and France, but international efforts to halt the 14-month-old war between Hamas and Israel in the Palestinian territory of Gaza have stalled.

"Hamas appreciates the right of Lebanon and Hezbollah to reach an agreement that protects the people of Lebanon and we hope that this agreement will pave the way to reaching an agreement that ends the war of genocide against our people in Gaza," Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

Later on Wednesday, the group said in a statement it was open to efforts to secure a deal in Gaza, reiterating its outstanding conditions.

"We are committed to cooperating with any effort to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and we are interested in ending the aggression against our people," Hamas said.

It added that an agreement must end the war, pull Israeli forces out of Gaza, return displaced Gazans to their homes, and achieve a hostages-for-prisoners swap deal.

Without a similar deal in Gaza, many residents said they felt abandoned. In the latest violence, Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip killed 15 people on Wednesday, some of them in a school housing displaced people, medics there said.

Months of attempts to negotiate a ceasefire have yielded scant progress and negotiations are now on hold, with mediator Qatar saying it has told the two warring parties it would suspend its efforts until the sides are prepared to make concessions.

Abu Zuhri blamed the failure to reach a ceasefire deal that would end the Gaza war on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly accused Hamas of foiling efforts.

"Hamas showed high flexibility to reach an agreement and it is still committed to that position and is interested in reaching an agreement that ends the war in Gaza," Abu Zuhri said.

"The problem was always with Netanyahu who has always escaped from reaching an agreement," he added.

Hamas wants an agreement that ends the war in Gaza and sees the release of Israeli and foreign hostages as well as Palestinians jailed by Israel, while Netanyahu has said the war can only end after Hamas is eradicated.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, senior Palestinian Authority Hussein Al-Sheikh welcomed the agreement in Lebanon.

"We welcome the decision to ceasefire in Lebanon, and we call on the international community to pressure Israel to stop its criminal war in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and to stop all its escalatory measures against the Palestinian people," Sheikh, a confidant of President Mahmoud Abbas, posted on X.

US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday his administration was pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza.