Post by abu yaqub on May 28, 2005 12:24:08 GMT -5
Muhammad Tantawi, Chief Imam of Egypt denounces Andijan rebels
27.05.2005, 11.38
TASHKENT, May 27 (Itar-Tass) - Muhammad Tantawi, Chief Imam of Egypt, Sheikh of Al-Azhar Complex, has supported “the irreconcilable stand of Uzbekistan in fighting religious extremism and terrorism, which are at variance with the very essence of the sacred Islamic religion.” On behalf of the Egyptian people and the public of the Islamic world, he expressed condolences in connection with the recent developments in the Uzbek city of Andijan involving a major loss of life, which were provoked by the extremist forces.
“If plans of the extremists are put into effect, this will drive the Islamic world many centuries back,” the UzA news agency of Uzbekistan quoted Muhammad Tantawi as saying. Various terrorist and extremist groups, which cover up their real objectives by provocative slogans like “the revival of the Islamic Caliphate” and “jihad,” are really furthering anti-human aims. “Jihad” actually means the protection of oneself, one’s motherland, home and property against the threat coming from the outside, while terrorism and religious extremism mean an encroachment on people’s lives and on their property,” he said.
Commenting on the version of the developments in Andijan, circulated by some mass media, he described it as “openly provocative and slanderous.” Muhammad Tantawi stressed that “only a state, in which security, stability and cohesion of society are ensured, can achieve progress and the improvement of living standards of the population.” He pointed to the similarity of methods and tactics used by the Andijan extremists, and the acts of terrorism, staged in Egypt in the 70s. In June 1974 militants led by Syrrey, former head of the military arm of the Egyptian branch of the Hizb ut-Takhrir organisation, attacked the Military-Technical Institute with the intention to capture the weapons kept there, after which they were going to stage a coup d’etat in Egypt.
27.05.2005, 11.38
TASHKENT, May 27 (Itar-Tass) - Muhammad Tantawi, Chief Imam of Egypt, Sheikh of Al-Azhar Complex, has supported “the irreconcilable stand of Uzbekistan in fighting religious extremism and terrorism, which are at variance with the very essence of the sacred Islamic religion.” On behalf of the Egyptian people and the public of the Islamic world, he expressed condolences in connection with the recent developments in the Uzbek city of Andijan involving a major loss of life, which were provoked by the extremist forces.
“If plans of the extremists are put into effect, this will drive the Islamic world many centuries back,” the UzA news agency of Uzbekistan quoted Muhammad Tantawi as saying. Various terrorist and extremist groups, which cover up their real objectives by provocative slogans like “the revival of the Islamic Caliphate” and “jihad,” are really furthering anti-human aims. “Jihad” actually means the protection of oneself, one’s motherland, home and property against the threat coming from the outside, while terrorism and religious extremism mean an encroachment on people’s lives and on their property,” he said.
Commenting on the version of the developments in Andijan, circulated by some mass media, he described it as “openly provocative and slanderous.” Muhammad Tantawi stressed that “only a state, in which security, stability and cohesion of society are ensured, can achieve progress and the improvement of living standards of the population.” He pointed to the similarity of methods and tactics used by the Andijan extremists, and the acts of terrorism, staged in Egypt in the 70s. In June 1974 militants led by Syrrey, former head of the military arm of the Egyptian branch of the Hizb ut-Takhrir organisation, attacked the Military-Technical Institute with the intention to capture the weapons kept there, after which they were going to stage a coup d’etat in Egypt.
