The echoes of the statements of the Egyptian Minister of Awqaf, Muhammad Mukhtar Gomaa, are still echoing in the Egyptian street.
After Gomaa considered that the supplication, “Oh God, heal our sick and Muslim patients, and God protect our country and Muslim countries”, is a wrong saying and an incitement to discrimination between the sons of the same country, Muslims and Christians, comments poured in from Egyptians through the communication sites, between supporters and opponents.
‘calling for division’
The uproar began following the minister said, during a speech at the “Tolerance and Confronting Violence” conference, organized by the Coptic Evangelical Authority in Egypt in the city of Ain Sukhna, yesterday, Monday, that he heard the imam of a mosque say this prayer, which he considered “calling for discrimination and intolerance.”
He also added that “the imam who heard him repeat this supplication is a person known for his patriotism,” noting that “he spoke to him and assured him that every Egyptian patient returns to us.
“A clergyman builds, not destroys.”
In addition, he indicated that he said to the imam who recited this supplication that “he should not supplicate with such supplications that divide and do not combine, and the meaning of the sentences that are said and the thought of every word that is written or said must be taken into account, for the clergyman builds and does not destroy and collects and does not differentiate.”
awareness sessions
Juma’a also called on “all imams to conduct awareness sessions to produce the sermon on a single fabric, with a true national awareness and understanding of religion.”
It is noteworthy that Mokhtar Gomaa has held the position of Minister of Awqaf in Egypt for 9 years, as he is the oldest in the government of Mustafa Madbouly following the last ministerial reshuffle.
