Al-Azhar condemns ‘reckless’ Paris Olympics ‘Last Supper’ parody

Al-Azhar condemned the “insulting scenes” involving Christ during the Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony on Friday, calling it “reckless extremism and barbarism.”

The ceremony featured a live representation of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” with drag queens and a transgender model. Critics accused organisers of promoting homosexuality and sexual deviance.

In a statement, Al-Azhar, the largest religious institution in Egypt, denounced the portrayal as disrespectful to Christ’s esteemed prophetic stature and offensive to believers.

It reaffirmed its rejection of any harm to any prophets, emphasising that nearly two billion Muslims revere Jesus as a prophet and God’s messenger. Jesus, Prophet Issa (peace be upon him) as he is known to Muslims, is mentioned in the Quran many times.

Al-Azhar warned against using global events to normalise insults to religion and promote destructive social behaviours.

The uproar from the scenes on Friday led to Paris 2024 Olympics spokesperson Anne Descamps apologising, saying there was no intention to disrespect any religious group and that they aimed to display societal tolerance.

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