Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs Condemns Statement of Sheikh of Al-Azhar of Egypt

Addis Ababa, June 17, 2021(Walta) -The Ethiopian Federal Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs denounced the statement made by Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Sheikh of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif of Egypt regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

The Mufti, Haji Omar Idris, Head of the Ethiopian Federal Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, said, the waters of the Nile stem from the heart of Ethiopia, noting that Ethiopia has the right to benefit from its natural resources without causing significant harm to the Nile Basin countries in general.

This came in a statement made by the Council to the media today (June 17) to refute the statement of Sheikh Al-Azhar on the GERD as the statement did not take into account the rights of the Ethiopian people.

The Head of the Supreme Council stressed that Ethiopia did not prevent Egypt and Sudan from benefiting from the Nile waters.

Rather, he said, it demanded to utilize the river in an equitable manner, and this is pure justice.

The Mufti said the Sheikh of Al-Azhar should look at the truth and be aware of the resolution of Ethiopians to get rid of poverty and stand firm by the sound decisions of the Ethiopian government in this regard, according to the MoFAoE.