Cairo closing “Al-Hussein Mosque” to prevent confrontation

Authoritative forces in Egypt raised the bar on security measures for the upcoming days

Authoritative forces in Egypt raised the bar on security measures for the upcoming days, to ward off any possible clashes between Salafists, Shiites, and Sufis during the cultural celebrations like the birth anniversary of Imam Hussein, peace be upon him.

An official in the Egyptian Endowment stated they will be resorting to closing down the “Al-Hussein Mosque”, situated at the center of Cairo, in a measure taken for curbing any Shiite rites being carried out inside the mosque or around its premises.

Moreover, members of al-Nour Party and the Salafist Call organization have requested the deputies at the House of Representatives to prevent any Shiite rites inside “Al-Hussein Mosque”.

However, Shiite sources confirmed that they will be peacefully visiting the mosque throughout the period of the celebrations and will not be confronting anyone.

Dr. Ahmed Rasim al-Nafis, a Shiite leader, told Asharq Al-Awsat agency that the Salafist threat against Shiites has lost its previous effect, and that the Shiites have grown indifferent to their intimidations and offensiveness. Al-Nafis asserted that the Shiite crowd will not hold back their visit to “Al-Hussein Mosque” at any given time of the year.

Statistics have yet not pinpointed the exact numbers of Shiites in Egypt; however, they are estimated to be somewhere around three million people.