The ceremony aimed to promote peace between religions. Invited Tuesday to speak on Capitol Square in Rome in front of Pope Francis as well as representatives of Judaism and Buddhism, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the most prestigious institution of the Sunni Islam in the absence of a tutelary authority, had not been able to personally make the trip due to the Covid-19 epidemic.
Appointed by former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 2010 and now under the close control of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, this ambassador of “Islam of the golden mean”, a mixture of tradition and modernity, delivered a message read in her name. And it was Mohamed Abdelsalam Abdellatif, secretary general of the High Committee for Human Fraternity, an interreligious dialogue initiated between the Muslim dignitary and the Sovereign Pontiff in Abu Dhabi in 2019, who was responsible for pronouncing it, in front of an audience of religious leaders. , including the Chief Rabbi of France Haïm Korsia.
“Double intellectual standard”
Four days after the appalling beheading of history and geography teacher Samuel Paty in front of a high school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, Ahmed al-Tayeb condemned a “heinous criminal act” which has “nothing to do with Islam , his teachings and his prophet ”. In doing so, the Grand Imam, whose conservative institution is plagued by Salafism (an ultra-rigorous version of Sunni Islam, Editor’s note) and who is sometimes accused of double talk, denounced the use of the caricatures of Muhammad published in the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. “At the same time, I insist on the fact that insulting religions and attacking their sacred symbols in the name of freedom of expression is a double intellectual standard and a call to hatred,” said the 74-year-old sheikh. .
Another equivocal reaction from a Muslim dignitary, that of the Secretary General of the International Union of Muslim Scientists, Ali al-Qaradaghi. The very evening of the assassination of Samuel Paty, the head of this organization linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and based in Qatar expresses on Facebook his “condemnation” of the events of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. And the man nevertheless wonders: “Where is the wisdom of the professor when he shows drawings which touch the beliefs of his teenage students?” The speech of the Secretary General of the International Union of Muslim Scientists then takes on a conspiratorial tone by suggesting that the French authorities, by killing the terrorist Abdullakh Anzorov, were then able to “describe the incident as they wish”.
Embarrassment
Faced with the controversy sparked by his words, Ali al-Qaradaghi finally backtracked. On the site of his organization, he unconditionally condemned the beheading of Samuel Paty, adding that he had in no way questioned the murder but that he simply wanted the terrorist to be arrested to “better understand his motives”.
“There is obviously an embarrassment among these religious figures who are shocked by these caricatures, like a majority of Muslims, including non-radicals”, analyzes the former diplomat Denis Bauchard, special advisor for the Middle East at the French Institute. of international relations (IFRI). “But they are required to take a relatively nuanced position because they remain under the authority of governments that do not want to anger France. ”
“Refrain from arousing hatred”
In the aftermath of the Conflans-Sainte-Honorine tragedy, Egypt condemned without qualification “the terrorist incident” committed in the suburbs of Paris, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs offering its condolences to the family of Samuel Paty and testifying to its ” solidarity ”to France. On the other hand, Qatar had still not officially reacted * this Wednesday to the attack which occurred five days earlier.
For its part, Saudi Arabia strongly condemned the “stabbing attack” which cost the French teacher the life, without however speaking of a “terrorist act”. Reaffirming the kingdom’s rejection of “violence, extremism and terrorism in all its forms”, the Saudi Foreign Ministry has however “renewed its call for respect for religious symbols and to refrain from arousing hatred by insulting religions ”.
Rigorous Islam
The strongest reaction came from the secretary general of the Islamic World League, Sheikh Mohammed al-Issa. Condemning the “horrible terrorist attack” of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, this Saudi politician, at the head of the pan-Islamist organization created in 1962 and based in Mecca, stressed the importance of “deploying all possible efforts to fight against terrorism and uproot its evil, in particular to defeat the extremist ideology which encourages these crimes ”.
A statement that is in line with “moderate Islam” promoted by Mohammed ben Salman, the authoritarian crown prince of Saudi Arabia. But that does not fail to question on behalf of an organization which has worked since its creation, 58 years ago, to promote a rigorist Islam throughout the world.
* In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Qatar ended up “strongly condemning the hate knife incident” that occurred Friday evening in the Paris suburbs. Reaffirming its “rejection of violence and terrorism, whatever the causes”, the Qatari Foreign Ministry has nevertheless highlighted the “need for global solidarity in order to respect religions and fight hatred “.
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