25 - 31 May 2006
Issue No. 796
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875
Egypt: Sunni but Shia inclined
Though Sunni, Egypt by history is founded on a Shia base, confounding agitators
who want to drive a confessional wedge into the heart of Islam, writes Mustafa
El-Feki*
Much of the anger and criticism sparked by President Hosni Mubarak's recent
statements on Arab Shia was the result of them being taken out of context and
misinterpreted. In the interests of restoring calm and objectivity, I believe
it would be useful to set those statements and their regretful effects to the
side for a moment and take a look at how Egypt really stands towards Shia Islam
and its adherents.
Egypt is a Sunni country but with strong Shia leanings. It is the country that
gave refuge to the descendants of the Prophet Mohamed in the first century AH
and continues to venerate them today. Its venerable Al-Azhar University is one
of the few Sunni academic institutions to teach Shia Jaafari jurisprudence
alongside the four schools of Sunni jurisprudence. This is of no small import
given the historical and symbolic significance of Al-Azhar. In addition, Egypt
was the first officially Shia state which, founded in the mid-10th century AH,
did more than its predecessors to shape the traditions and values of Egyptian
society.
Many are unaware that the conversion of Egyptian society to Islam did not take
place overnight. Indeed, Egypt remained predominantly Christian (Coptic) for a
full two centuries after the Islamic conquest and it was only with the arrival
of the Shia Fatimids and the founding of their new capital in Cairo --
Al-Qahira, "The Victorious" -- that the ratio shifted in the other direction.
So intent were some Fatimid rulers upon collecting taxes and the heavier jizya,
or head tax, from non-Muslims that huge sectors of the non- Muslim populace
converted to Islam as a means of reducing the financial burden.
Nor should we forget that the Fatimids established Al-Azhar as a bastion of
Shia jurisprudence and a theological centre in general. Fatimid rulers were
open, however, to other religious influences and drew heavily on the expertise
of non-Muslims, both Christian and Jewish. This was the state, after all, in
which the Jewish Maimonides rose to power as vizier. In fact, I would go so far
as to suggest that this was the epoch to which we can date the homogenisation
of Egyptian society and therefore, also, many characteristics of Egyptian
religious rites: fervent veneration for the descendants of Ali Ibn Abu Taleb
expelled by the Ummayid rulers, worship at a plethora of sacred tombs and
pilgrimage destinations, moulid celebrations commemorating the anniversaries of
Muslim holy men and women, and any number of daily religious rituals. This was
also the era in which Egypt became fully culturalised as an Arabic speaking
society, for it was around this time that the churches adopted Arabic alongside
Coptic as a liturgical language.
Concrete testimony to the enduring influence of Shia Islam on Egyptian society
is to be found in the "saints'" tombs dating from the Fatimid era. The widely
venerated Sidi Abul-Hassan Al-Shazli, Al-Sayed Badawi, Al-Mursi Abul-Abbas and
Ibrahim Al-Dessouqi all hailed from Fatimid North Africa. In fact, on the
outskirts of Damanhour -- the city I have the honour of representing in
parliament -- you will find the tomb of Abu Hasira. We had originally thought
that this was the tomb of a Muslim holy man. It turns out, however, that it is
of a Jewish holy man and, hence, a source of some intermittent difficulties in
Egyptian-Israeli relations because of the desire of some Israelis to make a
pilgrimage to this tomb. I believe Abu Hasira was one of the North African Jews
who came to Egypt when the Fatimid state opened its doors to immigrants of all
religious persuasions, in keeping with this country's long tradition of
religious and cultural tolerance and openness.
Egyptian Muslims, whether rightly or wrongly, must vie with the Shia in their
adoration of the descendants of the prophet. We, thus, find further tangible
evidence of our Shia leanings in the millions of pounds that worshippers leave
yearly as offerings in the donation boxes at the tombs of Hussein, Sayeda
Zeinab and Sayeda Aisha. The Ayyubids may have overthrown the Fatimid caliphate
and Sunni rites of worship and codes of jurisprudence may have supplanted Shia
rites and jurisprudence in mosques and in courts, but popular faith has clung
to some Shia ways.
Even official Sunni Islam in Egypt could not turn its back on Shia Islam
forever. In the early 1960s, the Imam Mahmoud Shaltout went down in Islamic
history for his fatwa declaring that Sunnis and Shias were equal in the eyes of
Islam. The famous Al-Azhar grand sheikh declared that the sectarian differences
between Sunni and Shia Islam were secondary and that both were fully in keeping
with the essence of the creed and Islamic law. Immediately afterwards, Al-Azhar
scored the precedent for an Islamic centre of learning by entering Jaafari
jurisprudence into its curriculum on equal footing with the other schools of
Islamic jurisprudence. We should also note that for many years Cairo was the
location for a Muslim ecumenical bureau. Its activities were overseen by a Shia
sheikh, the Imam Al-Qumi, who was assisted by a number of Sunni imams, among
whom was Sheikh Abdel-Aziz Eissa, who became minister of Al-Azhar affairs in
the 1970s.
Egypt, thus, has always taken the lead in offering its Sunni hand in friendship
and respect to its Shia brothers. What better event can serve to illustrate
this than the marriage, in the early 1940s, of Princess Fawzya, daughter of
King Fouad and sister of King Farouk, to the young Shah Mohamed Reza Pahlavi,
the emperor of Shia Iran. The marriage, joyfully celebrated by the peoples of
both countries, symbolised not only the joining of the two thrones but the
unity of Islam. I should add, here, that the Iranian people continue to harbour
great affection and respect for the Egyptian people, sentiments that I
experienced personally during my visit to Tehran several years ago. I also
cannot forget the famous remark by former Iranian president Rafsanjani who told
Egypt's celebrated journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal that he was looking
forward to the day when he could visit "the noble Al-Azhar" and pay tribute to
that great Islamic institution which had emerged from the fold of the Fatimid
Shia state.
This brief survey of Egypt's position with respect to Shia Islam represents an
effort to offset attempts to fan the flames of discord between Sunni and Shia
Islam. Such incendiary agitation is alien to our faith and lending ourselves to
it benefits no one but the West. Indeed, it has been suggested that the US is
currently working to place the Shia in power in Iraq in order to counteract the
effects of Britain's championing of the Iraqi Sunnis when, during the
monarchical period, the British Foreign Office installed the descendants of the
Sherif Hussein on the throne in Baghdad. In all events, we, in Egypt, see the
situation in Iraq much differently. Iraq is an indivisible whole. There is no
difference between Shia and Sunni, Kurd and Arab, Muslim and Christian. Iraq is
for the Iraqi people regardless of their diverse ethnic or religious
affiliations and this national affiliation should remain the only criterion for
citizenship and citizenship rights.
In fact, we in Egypt do not give much thought to the differences between Shia
and Sunni Islam, if only because the differences are not visibly there to
remark upon. At the same time, the Egyptians have much to offer by way of
testimony to their esteem and fondness for Shia Iran, not least of which are
the famous royal union mentioned above and the fact that Egypt offered itself
as the last refuge for the shah of Iran, who, in spite of his sins, was a
former ruler of a major Islamic nation and who now lies in peace in the capital
city founded by Muezeddin Al-Fatimi, the Shia ruler and founder of Al-Azhar.
All told, the excessive criticism being levelled at Egypt by our fellow Arabs
who belong to the Shia sect comes as something of a surprise to me. After all,
Egypt, with its many Fatimid minarets, domes and tombs, with its moulids,
Ramadan rites and Shia holy men, and with its particular social character, is
far from hostile to Shia Islam. This highly homogenous Sunni nation has a
solidly Shia quality in its core.
* The writer is chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the People's
Assembly
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