Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb: People Blame Us for Terrorism, But If Not for Israel, There Would Be No Problem, the Region Would Have Prospered

Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb in a recent TV interview said that "a most devious and malicious plot was hatched to plunge this dagger [i.e., Israel] into the body of the Arab world." Sheikh Al-Tayeb said that we have recently "had to swallow a dose of poison" manifest in Arab and Muslim infighting, ultimately "[serving] the interests of the well-known [Zionist] entity." He warned that it would not end with the Al-Aqsa Mosque, but that "they will march on the Kaaba and on the Prophet's Mosque [in Medina]." The interview with the Sheikh of Al-Azhar aired on Egypt's Channel 1 on January 26.

Following is a transcript:

Ahmed Al-Tayeb: I have noticed that they are always telling us that terrorism is Islamic. All those mouthpieces that croak – out of ignorance or because they were told to – that the Al-Azhar curricula are the cause of terrorism never talk about Israel, about Israel’s prisons, about the genocides perpetrated by the Zionist entity state… Or rather, the Zionist entity – the truth is that it is not a state. They never talk about the impact of the Zionist entity, or about it being the claws of terrorism.

Host: Yes.

Ahmed Al-Tayeb: If not for the abuse of the region by means of the Zionist entity, there would never have been any problem. The Middle East and the region would have progressed, and the Arab individual would have been like any other person in the world, enjoying a good life, or at least enjoying the right to live in peace. However, this is… Allah willing, if we have time, I will explain how come this place was selected in the days of British colonialism, and how a most devious and malicious plot was hatched to plunge this dagger into the body of the Arab world, so that it would remain sick.

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Recently, I’m sad to say, we had to swallow a dose of poison. It is manifest in our own preoccupation with our own [infighting], while the [Zionist] entity can relax. All we hear about is Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, whatever, the “Arab Spring”, or the “Arab Hell”… Has anybody heard anything about Israel or the Zionist entity recently? Has it occurred to people that this might be premeditated? If you looked for a logical reason for what is going on among us Arabs, you wouldn’t find any. Nor would you find a reason for what is going on among Muslims – between us and Iran and Turkey. Isn’t Iran a Muslim country? Isn’t Turkey a Muslim country? Why do we fight one another? Ultimately, this serves the interests of the well-known [Zionist] entity. As long as this entity is alive and active, the Arabs will remain neither living nor dead, and the Muslims will remain under attack. Note that if we continue this way, it will not end with the Al-Aqsa Mosque. They will march on the Kaaba and on the Prophet’s Mosque [in Medina]. This is on their minds and in their hearts.

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I met with Tony Blair when he visited us here on December 5, a little over a month ago. I told him that if countries – I did not mention names – move their embassies to Jerusalem, this will open the gates of Hell upon the West before the East.

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