Al-Azhar warns against exploiting theology to justify Zionist aggression - Foreign Affairs
In a statement on Monday, the AOCE cautioned that this theological framing goes beyond political and geographic disputes into the core of religious beliefs.
It highlighted specific misinterpretations of Biblical prophecies, particularly the "Gog and Magog" prophecy in the Book of Ezekiel (Chapters 38 and 39), which describes a major battle in the "last days" against the Jews.
These groups interpret "Persia," mentioned in this prophecy, as referring to modern-day Iran, which is portrayed as the central adversary in a hostile alliance targeting the Zionist entity, the AOCE said.
Per this view, Iran is not merely a regional nuclear threat, but a key figure in an "End Times" scenario.
The AOCE added that these interpretations frame the establishment of the Zionist entity in 1948 as the beginning of the fulfillment of a Biblical prophecy, and any threat to its existence as a prelude to the so-called "Final Battle" before Christ's second coming.
Christian Zionist media widely promotes this narrative in the United States by producing content that links every escalation with Iran to these theological prophecies.
According to the AOCE, this bolsters conservative public support for the Zionist entity and shapes the US policymakers' views, which increasingly consider support for Israel as both a religious duty and a strategic necessity.
Moreover, the observatory stressed that the Zionist entity uses such theological interpretations to justify its expansionist and aggressive policies against Arab and Islamic nations, fueling instability and violence across the Middle East.
The AOCE also warned the international community against the consequences of continued silence over the inhumane crimes committed by the Israeli occupation in Gaza, particularly weaponizing starvation and targeting unarmed civilians seeking essential food and medicine.
The Al-Azhar observatory urged an immediate halt to systematic killings and called for the urgent and unconditional delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip as a fundamental human right guaranteed by international covenants and conventions.
"The ongoing international silence represnts a moral complicity with the occupation's crimes and undermines the humanitarian values the global order claims to uphold," it concluded.
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