GAZA GRAND MUFTI PASSES AWAY AFTER IILNESS
A large number of mourners have participated in the funeral of the mufti of Gaza City who died late Monday at 79, ALRAY, Palestinian Media Agency reported as quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA), Tuesday.
Medical sources said that Sheikh Abd al-Karim al-Kahlout passed away at Shifa Hospital, after being admitted for three days to the Intensive Care Unit.
Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister in Gaza, performed the funeral prayer along with many dignitaries at the al-Umari Mosque in central Gaza City.
Kahlout received his Sharia education from Al Azhar University of Egypt in 1960. He worked as a lecturer at Gaza’s Al-Azhar Institute for Religious Science for 23 years, and then at Islamic University of Gaza for 18 years and Al Azhar University for four years.
Sheikh Abdel-Karim al-Kahlout has died at the age of 78. Al-Kahlout passed away Monday night after a long struggle with illness, the ministry said.
A funeral is due to be held later Tuesday in Gaza City, with Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and representatives of various Islamic and national groups expected to attend.
The Religious Endowments (awqaf) Ministry has urged Gazans to take part in the funeral, describing the departed mufti as “a highly-esteemed cleric and scholar.”
Al-Kahlout, appointed mufti of Gaza by late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, enjoyed the support of rival Palestinian factions, maintaining neutrality amid ongoing political divisions.
As mufti, he was responsible for issuing legal opinions (fatwas) based on the interpretation of Islamic Law.(L/P04/E01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
