Egypt’s Al-Azhar Cancels Anti-Shia Competition
According to the Shia Awqaf Department of Iraq, the cancellation was announced by head of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb in his meeting with Iraqi ambassador to Cairo.
El-Tayyeb said the Egyptian Islamic center has called off the contest given the tension created around it and due to Al-Azhar’s efforts to invite all Muslims to promote unity and fraternity, Mujiz Al-Iraq website reported.
It came after the Shia Awqaf Department of Iraq expressed readiness to provide Al-Azhar students with free books on Shia Islam, the report said.
Al-Azhar had announced late last year that it planned to hold a competition on "Spread of Shia Islam in Sunni Community; Reasons, Dangers and How to Confront It”.
Due to attempts by extremists and Takfiri groups, anti-Shia sentiments have been growing in Egypt in the past few years.
