Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, condemned the terrorist attack that occurred inside a Coptic monastery in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Tuesday.
In the strongest terms, Al-Tayeb, Sheikh of Al-Azhar, condemned the attack that targeted the monastery of Saint Mark the Apostle and Saint Anba Samuel of the Coptic Orthodox Church, which resulted in the killing of three monks in the church.
Al-Tayeb stressed in an official statement that “attacking people who are safe in places of worship is a hateful terrorist act, and that religious laws, with their values calling for peace and love, can never be a justification for murder and terrorism.”
The Sheikh of Al-Azhar offered “his sincere condolences and sincere sympathy to His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and to the families of the victims, calling for the speedy arrest of the perpetrators and bringing them to justice.”
The Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church said on Tuesday that three Egyptian monks were killed in a “criminal attack” inside a Coptic monastery in Johannesburg, while police in South Africa said they were investigating the incident.
The church spokesman said in a statement posted on Facebook, “Today three monks were subjected to a criminal attack in our Coptic monastery,” which led to their death.
South African police spokesman Colonel Dimakatsu Nvhuhole said that the authorities were investigating the killing of three monks in a church in the town of Cullinan, near Pretoria.
He added in a statement that the three were stabbed to death, while a fourth person who survived the accident said that he was struck with a metal rod before fleeing and hiding.
He continued, explaining: “The motive behind the killing is still unknown at this stage,” noting that the suspects “apparently left the site without taking any valuable items.”
The Egyptian Church’s statement said that one of the dead monks was “the hegumen monk Takla Samueli, the vicar of the Diocese of South Africa.”
The statement confirmed that an internal investigation had been opened into the incident and the Egyptian ambassador in Johannesburg had been notified.
2024-03-12 22:45:57
#Sheikh #AlAzhar #condemns #killing #monks #Johannesburg #hateful #terrorist #act #Sky #News #Arabia #Sky #News #Arabia
