Egypt’s mufti criticises European clerics’ visit to Israel, calling it an endorsement of a “bloody entity”

Egypt’s mufti, Nazir Ayad, on Thursday condemned a visit to Israel by a group he described as “those promoting themselves as religious figures”, calling it “a cheap political investment using fake clerical robes to beautify the image of a bloody occupying entity”.

In a strongly worded statement, Ayad rejected the delegation’s visit, which came just days after al-Azhar, Egypt’s highest religious body, also voiced condemnation. 

His comments followed an announcement on Monday from the office of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who said he had received “imams and leaders from the Muslim community in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and the United Kingdom” at his office in West Jerusalem.

According to Herzog’s office, the delegation was led by Hassen Chalghoumi and included “prominent Muslim figures who came to Israel to promote a message of peace, coexistence and partnership between Muslims and Jews, and between Israel and the Islamic world.”

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In response, Egypt’s mufti said in his statement:

“I have followed with deep regret this disgraceful visit made by a group promoting themselves as religious figures—people who have sold their consciences cheaply, and falsely wrapped themselves in the cloak of religion, only to stand before the leaders of the Zionist entity in a shameful scene.”

Ayad went on to accuse the group of promoting a “false peace and a dialogue stained with the blood of innocents”, adding that they speak of coexistence and dialogue with those who “know neither the philosophy of coexistence nor the language of dialogue”.

He continued:

“They repeat these empty slogans amid the rubble of homes, the bodies of children, and the cries of mothers in Gaza—Gaza, which has been facing extermination for nearly two years—without so much as a blink of an eye.”

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