Egyptian Quran Master Not Allowed to Visit Iran
According to Al-Kawthar TV network, Abdul Wahhab had been planned to travel to Iran and serve as a member of the panel of judges in a Quran competition organized by the TV channel.
Al-Kawthar annually holds the phone-in Quran competition titled "Inna lil-Muttaqina Mafaza” (Indeed, for the righteous is attainment- Holy Quran, 78:31) in Ramadan.
Several foreign Quran masters, including Abdul Wahab, are among the arbiters of the contest, whose semi-final round started on Monday night.
Abdul Wahab was going to travel to Iran via Dubai but was prevented from boarding a flight to Dubai at Cairo’s airport.
Airport officials cited a "lack of security permit” as the reason for preventing him from leaving the Arab country.
Since a few years ago, Egypt has forbidden any trip without permission to Iran by the Arab country’s scholars, Quran recites and prayer leaders.
In 2015, the Egyptian Awqaf ministry banned two of the country’s prominent Qaris from reciting the Quran for having made a trip to Iran without obtaining permission from the ministry.
Some anti-Shia groups in Egypt claim that Iran organizes visits by Egyptian Quran reciters to the Islamic Republic with the aim of infiltrating al-Azhar Islamic Center or spreading Shia Islam.
Tehran has rejected such assertions times and again, stressing that invitations for Egyptian Qaris and Quran masters to visit Iran are made with the purpose of enhancing the Quranic ties between the two nations.
