Egyptian TV host Muhammad Al-Dasuqi Rushdi criticized the religious institutions of his country in a January 16 address on Al-Nahar TV, saying that a recent "catastrophic" fatwa issued by Dar Al-Ifta, Al-Azhar's fatwa authority, forbidding praying for the soul of a deceased non-Muslim, made them "like the Muslim Brotherhood or ISIS." "Al-Azhar, Dar Al-Ifta, and the Ministry of Religious Endowments require a purification campaign, to cleanse them of those little ISIS members and of the extremist Muslim Brotherhood cells within," he said.
Muhammad Al-Dasuqi Rushdi: "Dar Al-Ifta has issued a catastrophic fatwa, published in all the newspapers, according to which it is impermissible to pray for the soul of a deceased non-Muslim. Why not? Because they are dwellers of Hell. It's as simple as that. This kind of talk makes you like the Muslim Brotherhood or ISIS. Let me say something, no matter the consequences. Some institutions in this country are betraying our soldiers in the Sinai, and are accomplices in their killing. Some sheikhs in Al-Azhar, in the Ministry of Religious Endowments, and in Dar Al-Ifta are killing those soldiers. Perhaps they are not killing them per se, but they are paving the way for those who are killing them, and paving the way for those who sympathize with the killers. They are the ones who are brainwashing people, so that they will also play a role in the killing of our soldiers in the Sinai, and in the spreading of terrorism in Egypt. As I have told you, the extremism of ISIS and the Muslim Brotherhood is rooted in ideology, not in weapons. The ideology of extremism is based upon the assumption that anyone with a different opinion is an infidel, destined to Hell, and that I must have anyone who does not share my religion.
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"The fatwa forbids praying for the souls of non-Muslims, because they are dwellers of Hell. Whoever issues such a fatwa has an ISIS ideology and methodology. The ISIS methodology gives a certain group a monopoly over Paradise. They appropriate the mercy of God, and build a booth where they sell tickets to Paradise... It is as if Paradise belongs to them alone... Nobody has the right to determine who is to enter Paradise and who to enter Hell. The ISIS members inside are more dangerous than those outside. The little extremist ISIS member who is raised here becomes ever more extreme following fatwas like this.
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"Al-Azhar, Dar Al-Ifta, and the Ministry of Religious Endowments require a purification campaign, to cleanse them of those little ISIS members, and of the extremist Muslim Brotherhood cells within. Stop this betrayal of our soldiers on the front."