Farajullah Shazli, the eminent Egyptian Qari, has been banned from Quran recitation in Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque.
The reason? Because he has once recited the Adhan (call to prayers) in Iraq the Shia style.
"Shazli, in a clip attributed to him(…), has recited Adhan the Shia style and has prayed for the reappearance of Mahdi [AS]. Thus he no longer is permitted to recite the Quran in Al-Azhar Grand Mosque," Abbas Shouman, the deputy of Al-Azhar Islamic Center, wrote in a Facebook post.
He added that Shazli can only enter the mosque as a worshipper not a Quran reciter.
Shouman also urged Egypt's Awqaf ministry to ban Shazli from reciting in all mosques affiliated to the ministry and called for Shazli to be prosecuted.
The Al-Azhar official further accused Shazli of receiving money from Shias.
Shouman's hostile stance against Shazli and Shias comes despite the fact that Al-Azhar Islamic Center has often claimed to be supporting Shia-Sunni unity and called for tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Farajullah Shazli is an Egyptian Quran master, international reciter and referee and a faculty member of Al-Azhar University. He also serves as the secretary general of Egypt's Quran Reciters Union.
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