al-Azhar Sunni scholar banned from teaching due to Iran trip

Rasa – Dr Ahmad Karimah, a renowned professor at Egypt’s al-Azhar University has been banned from teaching due to his trip to Iran last summer and comments he made about the growing Salafi threat to Egypt.

News ID: 2491

Date: 10 May 2015 - 19:33

RNA – Shaykh Dr. Ahmad Mahmoud Karimah, the director of the Department of Contemporary Islamic Jurisprudence at Egypt’s famous al-Azhar University, has stated that after his visit to Iran last August, he was repeatedly questioned.

Dr. Karimah emphasized that he only went to Iran in his capacity as a professor to teach comparative jurisprudence in relation to the five Islamic schools of thought for personal purposes and not as a representative of al-Azhar University.

Besides meeting with various Shi’ite sources of emulation and scholars while in the Shi’a holy city of Qom, the moderate Sunni scholar visited Sunni scholars in Kurdistan and learned about the jurisprudence of the Ahlul-Bayt (A).

He stated that he has been suspended from teaching at al-Azhar for stating that the Salafi movement is more dangerous than the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

In an interview with the Egyptian weekly newspaper “Akhbar el-Yom,” Dr Karimah criticized the behaviour of the leaders of al-Azhar University toward him, describing it as a form of torture and said the teaching ban is a form of terrorism and oppression.

The renowned Sunni scholar also referred to the travel ban on him, saying that after he was banned from travelling, he sought support from Egypt’s judicial institutions, adding that if he does not receive a response, he will go to Egypt’s president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, for an answer to why this oppressive ban was placed on him.

Dr Karimah said if he does not receive an answer, he will go to all human rights organizations to complain about the actions of al-Azhar. If these actions have no effect on Egypt’s decision, he will seek refuge in another country as a last resort.

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