ODVV Statement on Recent Shia Killings in Egypt

Once again the Islamic World has witnessed senseless and brutal sectarian violence. In a horrific attack on Sunday, 23 June four worshippers had gathered at the home of a prominent Shi'ite on the outskirts of Cairo to mark a religious festival when the house was attacked by a hostile crowd, which accused them of heresy and beat them to death.
we at the ODVV welcome the changes and continue to support these changes that have occurred in the region, resulting in the fall of long serving dictators, but at the same time condemn in the strongest terms all acts of religious violence.

Islam teaches tolerance, peaceful coexistence and mutual respect, and we believe that those that commit vicious crimes in the name of Islam are not true Muslims and the Islamic World condemns and shuns these individuals and groups.

We urge the Egyptian authorities to conduct a clear and transparent investigation and bring to justice those that incited this hate attack and the attackers themselves.

We also recommend a dialogue among religions committee be set up in Egypt made up of religious scholars, civil society activists and government representatives to help defuse and stop religious tension in Egypt.
The ODVV declares its readiness to provide any sort of assistance in this regard.

The silence of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation regarding the escalation of bloody sectarianism in the Islamic World is astonishing and unacceptable. It is high time that this international body highlighted these attacks and made a special agenda to help resolve the situation before it gets out of hand and becomes too late.