PM discusses extremism with Grand Mufti
CAIRO, June 25:Prime Minister Narendra Modi was today conferred with the ‘Order of the Nile’, Egypt’s highest honour, by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi here.
Instituted in 1915, the ‘Order of the Nile’ is conferred upon heads of states, crown princes, and vice presidents who offer Egypt or humanity invaluable services.
This is the 13th highest state honour conferred upon Prime Minister Modi.
“A mark of abiding friendship between India & Egypt! PM @narendramodi was conferred with the highest civilian honour of Egypt, the ‘Order of the Nile’, by President @AlsisiOfficial in Cairo,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet.
The ‘Order of the Nile’ is a pure gold collar consisting of three-square gold units comprising Pharaonic symbols.
The first unit resembles the idea of protecting the state against the evils, the second one resembles prosperity and happiness brought by the Nile and the third one refers to wealth and endurance.
The three units are connected to one another by a circular gold flower decorated with turquoise and ruby.
Hanging from the collar is a hexagonal pendant decorated with flowers of the Pharaonic style, and turquoise and ruby gems.
In the middle of the pendant, there is a protruding symbol representing the Nile that brings together the North (represented by the Papyrus) and the South (represented by the Lotus).
Over the past nine years, the Prime Minister has been conferred the Companion of the Order of Logohu, the highest civilian award of Papua New Guinea; the Companion of the Order of Fiji; the Ebakl Award by the Republic of Palau; the Order of the Druk Gyalp, the highest civilian decoration by Bhutan.
Modi has also been conferred with the Legion of Merit by the US Government; the King Hamad Order of the Renaissance by Bahrain; the Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddin, the highest honour of the Maldives; the Order of St. Andrew award, the highest civilian honour of Russia.
Modi has also received the Order of Zayed Award, the highest civilian honour of the United Arab Emirates; the Grand Collar of the State of Palestine Award, the highest honour of Palestine; the State Order of Ghazi Amir Amanullah Khan, the highest civilian honour of Afghanistan and the Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud, the highest honour of Saudi Arabia awarded to non-Muslim dignitaries.
Meanwhile, Narendra Modi today visited Egypt’s historic 11th century Al-Hakim Mosque in Cairo, restored with the help of India’s Dawoodi Bohra community.
On the second day of his state visit to Egypt, Modi visited the Fatimid era Shia mosque where he was received by Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt, Dr. Mostafa Waziri.
Modi was shown around the mosque whose latest restoration was completed about three months ago. He appreciated the intricate carved inscriptions on the walls and doorways of the mosque which was built in 1012.
“Honoured to visit the historic Al-Hakim Mosque in Cairo. It’s a profound testament to Egypt’s rich heritage and culture,” he tweeted in both Arabic and English.
Prime Minister Modi also met the leaders of Bohra community, who are actively involved in the upkeep of this Fatimid era Shia mosque and highlighted the strong people-to-people ties between India and Egypt, the MEA said in a press release.
The mosque mainly performs Friday prayers and all five obligatory prayers.
Over a thousand years old, al-Hakim is the fourth oldest mosque in Cairo, and the second Fatimid mosque to be built in the city. The mosque covers an area of 13,560 square metres, with the iconic central courtyard occupying 5,000 square metres.
The Bohra community, which is settled in India, originated from the Fatimids. They renovated the mosque from 1970 onwards and have been maintaining it since then, he said.
“The Prime Minister has a very close attachment to the Bohra community who have also been in Gujarat for many years and it will be an occasion for him to again visit a very important religious site for the Bohra community,” India’s Ambassador to Egypt Ajit Gupte earlier said.
The historic Mosque has been named after Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the 16th Fatimid caliph and is an important religious and cultural site for the Dawoodi Bohra community.
The Dawoodi Bohra Muslims are a sect of followers of Islam who adhere to the Fatimi Ismaili Tayyibi school of thought. They are known to have originated from Egypt and later shifted to Yemen, before establishing a presence in India in the 11th century.
Prime Minister Modi has a long-standing and warm relationship with the Dawoodi Bohras even before he became Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, Modi discussed Egypt-India ties as well as issues related to promoting social harmony and countering extremism and radicalisation with the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Dr Shawky Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam.
On his first state visit to Egypt, the Prime Minister apprised the Grand Mufti that India would set up a Centre of Excellence in IT at the Dar-al-Ifta – an Egyptian advisory body for Islamic legal research – under the Ministry of Social Justice of Egypt.
The Grand Mufti also appreciated the Prime Minister’s leadership in fostering inclusivity and pluralism, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release on the meeting held yesterday.
The Grand Mufti fondly recalled his recent visit to India and highlighted the strong cultural and people-to-people relations between India and Egypt.
Discussions also focused on issues related to social and religious harmony in society and countering extremism and radicalisation, the press release said.
“I was honoured to meet the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Dr Shawky Ibrahim Allam. We had rich discussions on the relations between India and Egypt, especially the cultural and people-to-people ties,” Prime Minister Modi tweeted after his meeting.
“I was honoured to meet Prime Minister Modi. It was a very nice and interesting meeting. In fact, he reflects a wise leadership for a big country like India,” the Grand Mufti said.
He said he had earlier met Modi at one of the Sufi conferences in Delhi.
“Between the two meetings, I have noticed that there is a great development in India. It reflects that he is continuously working in India. It also reflects the wise policies being adopted by Prime Minister Modi bringing co-existence between various factions in India,” he said.(PTI)
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