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Egypt's religious authorities weigh in on Nile dam crisis

Egypt’s Al-Azhar has published a book asserting Egypt’s rights to the Nile River waters based on Sharia law, raising questions about the role of religious institutions in the crisis over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Ethiopia dam
Construction workers stand next to a rock wall at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam near Guba in Ethiopia, on Dec. 26, 2019. The 145-metre-high, 1.8-kilometre-long concrete colossus is set to become the largest hydropower plant in Africa. — EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP via Getty Images

CAIRO — Egypt’s Al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy has published the first book on Egypt’s rights to the Nile waters from a Sharia point of view, in light of the ongoing dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

The book, titled “The Noble Answer in the Sugar of the River and the Distribution of the Nile’s Water,” is displayed at Al-Azhar pavilion at the 53rd Cairo International Book Fair, which began on Jan. 26 and will run until Feb. 6.

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