“No to Iranian tourism in Egypt.” “We reject the existence of Iranian Shiites in Egypt.” “Islam has no Shiites.” These sentiments were among the messages on signs held by some of the several dozen Salafis protesting in front of Al-Azhar University against an Iranian official visiting Cairo to attend a Sufi conference commemorating the birthday of Aisha, the wife of the Prophet Muhammad. Some Egyptian newspapers reported that the Salafis stormed the conference, causing it to end earlier than expected.
In November 2012, Shiites had been prevented from entering Cairo's al-Hussein Mosque to commemorate Ashoura, the martyrdom of the prophet’s grandson Hussein at Karbala. The decision was made after a group of Salafi and Sunni movements filed a petition to bar Shiites from entering the mosque. Similarly, in October 2011, Egyptian authorities denied the registration of the Shiite Tahrir Party because it was “based on religious principles,” even though other parties with religious affiliations — for example, the Freedom and Justice Party (Muslim Brotherhood) and al-Nour Party (Salafists) — were not only allowed to register, but also to participate in elections.
More recently, it was reported on April 8 that a student at the Al-Azhar College for Girls in Assiut had been accused of being a Shiite, with some calling for her expulsion. This and other incidents suggest that anti-Shiism is becoming commonplace in Egypt, much of it rooted among ultraconservative Salafis, whose political influence is growing. Also of note are goverment-sanctioned efforts to restrict the number and movement of Iranian nationals visiting tourist sites, in part due to fears of their congregating at Shiite shrines in Cairo. One could thus easily argue that Egypt is in the grip of a “Shiite scare.”
Shiites in Egypt
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