Sisi Pledges to Improve Religious Rhetoric

Sisi gestures during an interview with Reuters in Cairo, Egypt in this May 14, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Sisi gestures during an interview with Reuters in Cairo, Egypt in this May 14, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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Sisi Pledges to Improve Religious Rhetoric

Sisi gestures during an interview with Reuters in Cairo, Egypt in this May 14, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Sisi gestures during an interview with Reuters in Cairo, Egypt in this May 14, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has stressed that Egypt remains committed to its mission to improve religious rhetoric.

"This is a collaborative responsibility that requires concerted efforts so that we build together a bright and wise intellectual path … to face challenges and build the future state," Sisi said Sunday.

In a speech marking the Prophet’s birthday, the president urged religious authorities to double their efforts to spread tolerance and correct religious misconceptions.

Sisi noted that the message of Islam values knowledge and science, and that the first word in Quran is “read.”

He further underlined that awareness is a key factor for a nation’s stability and progress.

The president stressed the importance of confronting individuals who take the holy words out of context and those who seek to stray people away from performing "the divine commands of reconstruction and reform of the world in what is good for humanity as a whole."

For his part, Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayyeb shed light on the importance of saving Muslim communities from the inhumane conditions that have been imposed by "some people who claim they abide by the instructions of the Prophet, and his religion and jurisprudence, while they kill innocents."

Tayyeb slammed those individuals who "turn Allah's mosques to arenas for war where lives are lost, blood is shed, bodies shattered, and sanctities violated.”



UN's Syria Envoy Calls for 'Free And Fair Elections' after Transition

A man lifts an independence-era Syrian flag as passengers disembark in Aleppo, after the first commercial flight since Assad's ouster - AFP
A man lifts an independence-era Syrian flag as passengers disembark in Aleppo, after the first commercial flight since Assad's ouster - AFP
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UN's Syria Envoy Calls for 'Free And Fair Elections' after Transition

A man lifts an independence-era Syrian flag as passengers disembark in Aleppo, after the first commercial flight since Assad's ouster - AFP
A man lifts an independence-era Syrian flag as passengers disembark in Aleppo, after the first commercial flight since Assad's ouster - AFP

United Nations special envoy Geir Pedersen called Wednesday for "free and fair elections" in Syria and urged humanitarian assistance to the war-torn country after Bashar al-Assad's ouster this month.

Addressing reporters in Damascus, Pedersen said "there is a lot of hope that we can now see the beginning of a new Syria", which he expressed hope would also include a "political solution" in the Kurdish-held northeast.

The UN envoy called for "a new Syria that, in line with Security Council Resolution 2254, will adopt a new constitution... and that we will have free and fair elections when that time comes, after a transitional period."

Resolution 2254, adopted in 2015 at the height of the civil war, set out a roadmap for a political settlement in Syria, according to AFP.

After opposition factions captured Damascus on December 8 and toppled Assad's rule, Pedersen expressed his hope the Syrians can rebuild their country and that "the process to end sanctions" imposed under the former government could begin.

"We need immediate humanitarian assistance, but we also need to make sure that Syria can be rebuilt, that we can see economic recovery," he said.

Pedersen noted that "one of the biggest challenges is the situation in the northeast", amid fears of a major escalation between the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Türkiye-backed armed groups.

Türkiye accuses the main component of the SDF, the People's Protection Units (YPG), of being affiliated with Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants at home, whom both Washington and Ankara consider a "terrorist" group.

The United States said on Tuesday it had brokered an extension to a fragile ceasefire in the flashpoint town of Manbij and was seeking a broader understanding with Türkiye.

"I'm very pleased that the truce has been renewed and that it seems to be holding, but hopefully we will see a political solution to that issue," Pedersen said.