Sheikh Emad Effat (15 August 1959 – 16 December 2011) was a senior

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic cleric at

al-Azhar Al-Azhar Mosque ( ar, الجامع الأزهر, al-Jāmiʿ al-ʾAzhar, lit=The Resplendent Congregational Mosque, arz, جامع الأزهر, Gāmiʿ el-ʾazhar), known in Egypt simply as al-Azhar, is a mosque in Cairo, Egypt in the historic ...

Mosque who was shot and killed during protest demonstrations on 16 December 2011.The revolution's sheikh, killed at 52
Rana Khazbak . almasryalyoum.com . 16 December 2011 Effat had participated in the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in T ...

demonstrations in Egypt since the January uprising.

Background

Effat was born in

Giza Governorate Giza Governorate ( ar, محافظة الجيزة ') is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is in the center of the country, situated on the west bank of the Nile River opposite Cairo. Its capital is the city of Giza. It includes a stretch of ...

in Egypt to Ahmed Effat, a calligrapher. He was one of four children. Effat graduated from Arabic Language from the Faculty of Arts at

Ain Shams University Ain Shams University ( ar, جامعة عين شمس) is a public university located in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1950, the university provides education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels. History Ain Shams University was fou ...

in 1991 with a BA with honors. In the late 1990s, he also obtained a Bachelor of

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

(Islamic Law) and a Diploma in Islamic Jurisprudence from the Faculty of Sharia and Law at

Al-Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...

. He is survived by his wife, Nashwa Abdel Tawwab, a journalist at ''

Al-Ahram Weekly ''Al-Ahram Weekly'' is an English-language weekly broadsheet printed by the Al-Ahram Publishing House in Cairo, Egypt. History and profile ''Al Ahram Weekly'' was established in 1991 by the ''Al-Ahram'' newspaper, which also runs a French-langu ...

'' newspaper. The Al-Azhar Sheikh was the director of fatwas, religious edicts, at Dar Al-Iftaa since 2003. He also worked as a Sharia researcher at the House of Authentication of Religious Studies and a researcher at MSX International Programming Company. According to his widow, he had been participating in popular demonstrations since Egypt’s January uprising.

“During sit-ins at
Tahrir Square Tahrir Square ( ar, ميدان التحرير ', , English language, English: Liberation Square), also known as "Martyr Square", is a major public town square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political dem ...
, he would go to work in the morning and spend the night in the square. He wasn’t able to join the Cabinet sit-in, but when he saw he violence he couldn’t just stand and watch people dying, so he went down to the protest.”

Death

According to Yasmine El Rashidi of the

New York Review of Books New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, quoting "a close associate of

Ali Gomaa Ali Gomaa ( ar, علي جمعة, Egyptian Arabic: ) is an Egyptian Islamic scholar, Jurist, and public figure who has taken a number of controversial political stances. He specializes in Islamic Legal Theory. He follows the Shafi`i school of ...

, the Mufti of

Al-Azhar Al-Azhar Mosque ( ar, الجامع الأزهر, al-Jāmiʿ al-ʾAzhar, lit=The Resplendent Congregational Mosque, arz, جامع الأزهر, Gāmiʿ el-ʾazhar), known in Egypt simply as al-Azhar, is a mosque in Cairo, Egypt in the historic ...

, “He was definitely targeted. Although the bullets weren’t fired by a soldier, the army is clearly complicit, letting it happen.” According to this theory, the government was trying to use the death of a popular Sheikh to stir anger towards the protest movement.Egypt: The Mayhem
Yasmine El Rashidi However at a funeral march 17 December thousands of mourners chanted “Down with military rule.” In an obituary,

Al-masry Al-youm ''Al-Masry Al-Youm'' ( ar, المصري اليوم ', , meaning ''The Egyptian Today'') is an Egyptian privately owned daily newspaper that was first published in June 2004. It is published in Arabic as is its website, ''almasryalyoum.com''. An ...

stated that he had been killed "by military police with a gunshot to his heart."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Effat, Emad 1959 births Ain Shams University alumni Al-Azhar University alumni Egyptian imams Egyptian Sunni Muslims 21st-century imams Egyptian revolution 2011 deaths