CAIRO — The Egyptian Ministry of Religious Endowments has prohibited praying for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in mosques — marking the first time in its history it has taken such action. The move is part of the ministry’s plan to separate religion and politics, which was prompted by prominent Egyptian cleric Sheikh Mohammed Jibril's call July 13 for God to punish those who have "oppressed" the Egyptian people. The people, however, perceived the call as wishing bad luck specifically upon Sisi and his regime. 

Prominent journalists including Ahmad Moussa, and politicians such as Mortada Mansour, in addition to clerics — mainly Minister of Religious Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa — accused Jibril of siding with the Muslim Brotherhood and terrorist groups. Jibril then was forbidden to practice his role as imam in all mosques across Egypt.

However, the Egyptian Ministry of Religious Endowments had made a habit of encouraging preachers to pray for the president at the end of religious sermons because it considered praying for the nation’s guardian in line with Sharia. A prominent example of this was when the ministry issued a directive in 2010 to all imams in Egypt to mention then Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in their prayers so he would recover from his illness. The ministry had stressed that it was a duty imposed by Sharia on everyone, quoting Muslim scholar Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, “If I knew my prayers were answered, I would dedicate them all to the ruler.”

But now the ministry has changed course. Gomaa justified his decision to prohibit prayer for Sisi in a July 28 interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, saying, “Legally speaking, praying for someone and wishing them good luck is pursuant to Sharia. However, at this stage, the president does not need anyone to pray for him.” Gomaa added, “I refuse to pray for President Sisi in mosques, so as not to open new doors for imams, for this might lead to exaggeration in praying for President Sisi." Political prayer in general should be avoided, he said.