The Council of Sufi Orders has decided to form popular committees to protect shrines of venerated religious figures in Qena from potential assaults by demonstrators.
However, council representative Mohamed al-Soghayar said the Sufis are taking part in the demonstrations that demand the replacement of Qena’s newly appointed Coptic governor Emad Mikhail with a Muslim.
The demonstrators and the Sufis also demand the appointment of a civilian governor, as all previous governors came from the military.
Ayman Taha Othman, leader of the Rahimiya Qenaiya Sufi Order, said the council is preparing speeches and lectures to prove that the construction of shrines is in accordance with the Sunni Islamic Sharia law.
He also accused the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis of opposing Sufism, and of standing behind recent attempts to demolish the shrines.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
