Egypt’s Al Azhar bans joining Muslim Brotherhood

Abu Dhabi: Al Azhar, the highest authority in Sunni Islamic thought and Islamic jurisprudence in Egypt, said joining the Muslim Brotherhood, which is blacklisted by Egypt, is forbidden according to Shariah law and that Almighty Allah has forbidden division and disagreement.

Al Azhar’s renowned fatwa center, in its edict, added Almighty Allah forbids people from pursuing any path that distracts them from following the truth, explaining that keeping to the Qur’an and the Sunnah, in accordance with Shariah, was the only way to please Almighty Allah.

“It is clear to the public what these groups have done in distorting some texts, cutting them out of their context, and using them to achieve personal goals or interests and corrupting the land,” the centre said in the fatwa.

“Membership in these extremist groups is considered forbidden by Shariah,” it added.

Egyptian authorities have labeled the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group since December 2013.

Hundreds of members and leaders of the organisation are being tried on charges related to inciting or committing violence.

In mid-November, Saudi Arabia’s Council of Senior Scholars had also blacklisted the group.

“The Muslim Brothers’ Group is a terrorist group and [does not] represent the method of Islam, rather it blindly follows its partisan objectives that are running contrary to the guidance of our graceful religion, while taking religion as a mask to disguise its purposes in order to practice the opposite such as sedition, wreaking havoc, committing violence, and terrorism,” the council said.

In 2014, Saudi Arabia and UAE officially designated the group as a terrorist organisation “to keep sedition at bay.” Bahrain soon followed suit.

The countries have urged the public to stay away from the organisation and not sympathize with its actions.

Khaled Al Jundi, a preacher and member of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, said that the Islamic world has long awaited Al Azhar’s edict.