Egypt mufti’s visit to Jerusalem causes stir

Egyptian Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa’s visit to Jerusalem caused a stir on Thursday in his own country, where normalisation of ties with Israel remains a highly sensitive issue. The powerful Muslim Brotherhood called the trip a “catastrophe” that undermined Palestinian aspirations, and Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s highest authority, was to meet to discuss the issue. Gomaa, Egypt’s highest religious authority, visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Wednesday for the first time, along with Jordan’s Prince Ghazi bin Mohammed, King Abdullah II’s cousin and adviser on religious affairs. Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel, in 1979, but its people are largely opposed to any normalisation of relations between the two nations pending the resolution of the Palestinian issue. The Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) said it “categorically rejects the visit to Jerusalem of Mufti Ali Gomaa whatever the reasons.” His visit is a “catastrophe and a blow to the national struggle that succeeded in defeating all attempts at normalisation (with Israel) in the past,” a statement said. It was “unacceptable that this visit takes place after the revolution” that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak last year, whose regime “enjoyed strong relations with the leaders of Israel (but) failed to impose normalisation on the Egyptian people.” The revolution “has led to an agreement between the popular and official positions rejecting all ties with the Israeli entity as long as it continues the occupation, colonisation and siege of Gaza,” the statement added. The FJP said the mufti, who is in charge of the official religious institutions, should ensure that such visits, which “harm the Palestinian cause,” are not repeated.