How’s Al-Azhar Alone Saving Face of Arab World with its Pro-Resistance Stances?

After assassination of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar by the Israeli regime on October 16, Al-Azhar released a statement, saying that "we express our condolences for the martyrdom of the heroic Palestinian resistance's martyrs, the same martyrs who were assassinated by the criminal hands of the Zionists, the Zionists who created corruption in our Arab land and committed murder, destruction and occupation in front of the eyes and ears of the unresolved and thoughtless countries and the international community, which is silent like the dead in the graves."

The statement further said:" The martyrs of the Palestinian resistance were the real resistance fighters who terrorized their enemies and put fear in their hearts. These members of the resistance were not terrorists, as the enemy tries to make them look like terrorists with deception and trickery, but they were real resistance fighters who held on to the soil of their homeland until God granted martyrdom to them. They confront the trickery and aggression of the enemy and defend the land and their cause and our cause."

The statement added: "We emphasize the importance of discrediting the lies of the Zionist media machine and its attempt to distort the image of Palestinian resistance figures in the minds of our youth and children and call them terrorists. It is an honor to resist and defend the homeland and die fighting for it."

At a time most of the Arab countries and organizations are turning a blind eye to the Israeli crimes against the Palestinians over the past year, the repeat of these stances by Al-Azhar has brought about a positive record for this religious institution among the Muslim world and Arab nations. 

Al-Azhar immediately after the start of the occupation army's attacks on Gaza, called on the Muslim nations to rise up against Tel Aviv and also requested Islamic countries to reconsider their relations with Washington as a supporter of the Israeli regime, calling the US "arrogant". 

Ahmed al-Tayeb, Sheikh of Al-Azhar, even said in a letter to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres that the world is going in the wrong direction without humane principles or moral guidelines, and "if the current situation continues, we will witness an unprecedented spread of crime, hatred, destruction, war, and violence."

Al-Azhar did not stop at oral calls and support statements and showed its support to Gaza in practice. 

On November 1, 2023, as part of the "Aid Gaza" campaign, the first convoy of Egyptian Zakat and Charity House was deployed to Gaza, which included 18 trucks full of medicine, food and relief. Even other financial aid was collected by this institution to the Palestinian people to heal a small part of the sufferings of the residents of this besieged enclave. 

Significance of supports of Al-Azhar 

The pro-Palestinian stance of Al-Azhar is significant because the compromising Arab rulers, who over past year could do much on the international stage and organizations to pressure Israel and stop its war machine, have closed their eyes to the Israeli crimes and even secretly provided funding and arms to Tel Aviv, emboldening the Israelis to continue their genocide in Gaza. 

In recent years, some reactionary Arab regimes have added such resistance movements as Hamas to their terror blacklist since they have agenda contrary to that pro-Israeli agenda adopted by Arab rulers. 

Therefore, in this situation that the conciliatory Arab rulers are playing in the game of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Al-Azhar and religious figures have a heavy responsibility on their shoulders to encourage and unite the Muslim world to support the Palestinians by awakening the general conscience. 

Al-Azhar has always shown that it is in separate ways from the policies of the compromising Arab rulers who are not consistent with their religious identity and choose their political and economic interests over the Palestinian cause. 

The Arab countries label Hamas leaders "terrorists", but Al-Azhar calls them real heroes who can recapture the usurped territories with Islamic support. 

In January 2018, Al-Azhar also arranged an international conference in support of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as the usurped capital of Palestine with the participation of representatives from 86 countries, condemning the Israeli crimes in the occupied territories, especially Al-Quds and appreciating and supporting the Palestinian people for standing up to the Israeli enemy.

Al-Azhar has also been on the pro-Palestinian side in the Palestinian resistance's conflict with the Israelis.

In the Sword of Al-Quds war between Hamas and Israel in May 2021, Al-Azhar's al-Tayeb ordered the leaders of Al-Azhar and the department responsible for aid convoys to immediately take the necessary measures to send an urgent relief convoy to Gaza, during which a number of trucks carrying Humanitarian aid were sent to Gaza. Al-Azhar even through its campaign documented correct and consistent information confirming the Arab identity of Al-Quds, relying on historical documentary sources.

Having in mind that the Palestinian people are disappointed with Arab rulers' aid, the role of religious institutions such as Al-Azhar in neutralizing the plans of the Israeli enemy to get influence among Muslims is more evident than ever. 

One of the creeping measures of the Israeli regime to build a foothold on the Islamic countries is the use of the media, which have a tremendous impact on the direction of public opinion.

A clear example can be seen well in the Saudi media propaganda. The Saudi MBC Media Group which over the past year has been a platform publishing Israeli propaganda, on Friday published a report on resistance leaders and commanders like Hezbollah's Sayyed Nasrallah, Iran's General Qassam Soleimani, Iraq's Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and Palestine's Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar and others, calling them "terrorists," a labeling that drew outrage on Arab and Muslim world social media. Al-Azhar can neutralize such Israeli influence efforts that are aimed at aligning the Muslim and Arab public opinion with its occupational agenda. 

Due to the presence of thousands of Muslim students in Al-Azhar University from all over the world, the religious scholars of this university can familiarize these students with the identity and history of Palestine and use them as ambassadors to inform people in Islamic countries after graduation.

In the past centuries, Al-Azhar has stood as a strong fortress against foreign invaders of Egypt, and by making people aware of the identity and history of Egypt, it played a constructive role in expelling foreigners from this country. This happened during the French occupation of Egypt and several times with some local rulers when Sheikh Abdullah Al-Sharqawi, the then head of Al-Azhar, ordered the closing of Al-Azhar Mosque and other mosques as a form of civil disobedience against the French push to manipulate these religious platforms to maintain its authority in Egypt. 

Experts suggest that the uprising of the sheikhs of Al-Azhar against the Mamluks ( foreign rulers) of Egypt was part of the Islamic awakening that ended with the repentance of the rulers and end of oppression against people. Actually, the authority and sway of the sheikhs of Al-Azhar over masses worried the Mamluks. 

Therefore, given the continuation of the Israeli crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories, Al-Azhar can play a more active role in enlightening the public opinion about the need to support Palestine and fight the occupation. 

In recent years, Al-Azhar even published books about history of Palestine and its Islamic identity, and their distribution across the Muslim world can have substantial influence on public awareness of the Palestinian cause.