AhlulBayt News Agency

source : The Egyptian Gazette
Tuesday

25 October 2011

8:30:00 PM
274425

Al-Azhar Grand Imam Criticises Gaddafi Corpse Saga

Al-Azhar said on Tuesday the dead should be respected and buried, a clear criticism of how ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's body was put on show and left to rot for days after his killing.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The statement by al-Azhar, published by Egypt's official Middle East News Agency (MENA), did not mention Gaddafi. But it clearly referred to him by saying it was responding to "the many questions" related to the mistreatment of the dead and other violent actions, including acts by "tyrannical  regimes", during Arab uprisings.

 "We demand that all sides abide by the Islamic position that forbids using violence against peaceful protests but also forbids inhumane treatment of the injured and desecration of dead bodies or keeping them without burial," said The Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayyeb.

 Gaddafi was buried in a secret location in the desert Tuesday five days after he was captured, killed and put on grisly public display, a move that provoked controversy among Islamic scholars over its religious legality.

 Libya's mufti, Sadeq el-Gheriany, said earlier in the week that Gaddafi was not a Muslim and thus people should not hold Islamic funeral rituals or pray for his soul.

 "God honoured man dead or alive and set ethics for wars," el-Tayyeb said, calling on all Muslims to respect these ethics and maintain the honor of the dead which are "religious obligations".

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