Turkey, Qatar, Iran Not Invited to Egypt’s Int’l Quran Contest for Political Reasons
Abdul Raziq said they have not been invited to the international Quranic event, which kicked off in Cairo on Saturday, due to the political tensions existing between Egypt and the three countries.
Speaking to LTC satellite TV on Saturday, he alleged that Tehran, Doha and Ankara support terrorism and that the Islamic Republic seeks to spread Shia Islam in Sunni-majority Egypt, a claim Iran has always dismissed as baseless.
“As every participant (in the contest) is a representative of their country, and as these three countries financially and ideologically support terrorism, they cannot be invited to the international Quran competition,” he was quoted as saying by al-Wafd news website.
The Egyptian official’s allegations against Iran come while the Islamic Republic has itself been a victim of terrorist activities and played a leading role in the fight against terrorism in the region.
But what is more regrettable than the leveling of unfounded accusations against Iran is Egypt’s decision to politicize and, thus, tarnish an international Quranic program, which could otherwise serve as a venue for enhancing Islamic unity, something that the Muslim Ummah needs more than ever.
Iran, unlike Egypt, recognizes the important role of Quranic activities in promoting Muslim unity and that is why the Islamic Republic invites Egyptian Quran reciters and memorizers to all of its international Quranic events.
Moreover, senior Egyptian Quran masters have frequently visited Iran and attended Quran recitation sessions in different Iranian cities.
