Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Thomas Friedman found a cleric he likes

"Last Sunday, Egypt’s new Islamist-dominated Parliament demanded that the country’s senior Muslim cleric — the state-appointed grand mufti, Ali Gomaa — resign because he had visited East Jerusalem to pray in the Al Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. Gomaa said it was a personal visit, arranged by Jordan. Nevertheless, Reuters reported that the Egyptian parliamentary committee responsible for religious affairs called on Gomaa to step down, issuing a statement that the “brutal enemy” — Israel — controls Jerusalem’s “entries, exits, mosques and churches. Going in enforces occupation and bestows upon it legitimacy. It also represents a sign of normalization with the Zionist entity that is popularly rejected.”"