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17 May 2009
When US President Barack Obama
addresses the Muslim world from Cairo next month,
Egyptian officials hope he will choose 1 000-year-old
Al-Azhar mosque, the heart of a revered institution
for Islamic study, as his backdrop to convey US
respect for Islam.
The American Embassy in Cairo said no decision has
been made yet on a venue for Obama's June 4 speech on
US relations with the Muslim world. But two Egyptian
security officials said on Thursday that an American
advance team scouted five potential sites this week
and narrowed it down to a short list of three - the
Al-Azhar mosque and two other locations connected to
it.
Al-Azhar
is one of the oldest, most prestigious and most
influential institutions of higher learning for Sunni
Islam.
Delivering his message from the 10th-century mosque
would convey the American president's regard for
Islamic religion, culture and history, Al-Azhar
officials said.
"Al-Azhar is a beacon of knowledge and moderation for
the whole Islamic world," said Sheikh Fawzi Zefzaf, a
prominent Al-Azhar scholar.
Sheik of Al-Azhar Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi welcomed
Obama to use his podium. He said a speech from the
mosque could "open the door for a dialogue of reason
between the world's cultures and civilisations to
spread values of justice and good against hatred and
violence."
The historic mosque was built in 972 by the Fatimids,
Shi'a Muslim rulers who had just conquered Egypt and
built Cairo as their capital. Later Egypt came under
Sunni rule, and the mosque became a prestigious centre
for the teaching of Islamic thought and philosophy.
Over the centuries, numerous rulers added to the
sprawling building, which boasts five minarets and
numerous domes, along with columned prayer halls and
madrasas - or religious schools - around a central
open courtyard. It lies in the heart of Islamic Cairo
with its maze of small alleyways and bazaars.
The mosque holds a special place in Egypt's more
recent political history as well, a symbol of
resistance against Western imperialism.
Nationalists launched marches and protests from the
mosque during a 1919 revolt against British rule. In
1956, then-President Gamal Abdel Nasser gave a famed
speech from Al-Azhar's pulpit rallying Egyptians
against an invasion by Britain, France and Israel.
Today, Al-Azhar University has expanded into several
modern campuses. It hosts thousands of students of
Islamic theology every year, exports clergy throughout
the Muslim world and the U.S. and its clerics issue
edicts that carry a moral weight that influences well
beyond the borders of Egypt. Within the country, Al-Azhar
is empowered to censor books, movies and other media
related to religion.
Since he took office in January, Obama has reached out
repeatedly to the Islamic world. He is well liked in
the Middle East, where people often mention
enthusiastically that his father
was a Muslim from Kenya.
Choosing Al-Azhar, a Sunni institution, could also
help ease Sunni fears over US efforts to open a
dialogue with Shi'a Iran.
Predominantly Sunni US allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia
accuse Iran of destabilising the Middle East.
The Egyptian officials said in addition to the mosque,
the advance team looked at a conference centre and a
meeting hall that are part of Al-Azhar but in other
parts of Cairo. They said the
team ruled out Cairo University because it would have
disrupted year-end exams, and Cairo Convention Hall
which was deemed too shabby.
American Embassy spokeswoman Margaret White said there
has been no decision yet on the venue.
Among the myriad security considerations if Obama
speaks from the mosque are the problems posed by the
thousands of shoes that would have to be checked at
the door in accordance with Muslim tradition, the
Egyptian security officials said.
First, there is the problem of where to put them all.
But the bigger concern is they could provide cover for
bombs, said the two officials from the president's
office and the Ministry of Interior
who are responsible for the security for visiting
foreign dignitaries. They spoke on condition of
anonymity because of security concerns.
Worshippers and other visitors traditionally remove
their shoes before going into mosques and place them
on a rack outside.
Al-Azhar mosque holds about 1 000 people. But
normally, worshippers can wrap them in plastic bags
and take them inside or leave them on trucks outside.
However during an Obama speech, the
audience would be barred from carrying bags inside for
security reasons. - Sapa-AP
EsinIslam.Com
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