Khaberni - Al-Rifa'i Mosque is one of the most prominent historical mosques in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, built in the 19th century AD near Salah Al-Din Citadel. It was named after the Rifa'i Zawiya where Sheikh Ali, known as Abu Shubak, a grandson of Imam Ahmad Al-Rifa'i to whom the Rifa'i Sufi order is attributed, is buried—a major order in the Islamic world.
In recent hours, an incident at the mosque has sparked widespread outrage and debate on social media platforms in Egypt, after a video was circulated showing what was said to be a wedding ceremony featuring scenes described as "offensive," attributed to Iranian tourists inside the attached shrine of the Shah of Iran.
These scenes led the General Sheikdom of the Rifa'i order to issue a strongly-worded statement on their Facebook page, where they expressed their "deep dismay and severe condemnation" for what they described as "gross negligence and corruption" inside the Imam Al-Rifa'i Mosque. The sheikdom criticized what it called an attempt to turn the mosque into a tourist attraction similar to a museum without maintaining religious rituals, along with violating the sanctity of the place and disrespecting its holiness.
The statement also highlighted the allowance of some visitors, including Iranian tourists, to enter the mosque wearing their shoes, in addition to other offensive incidents inside the Shah of Iran’s mausoleum, including what the media referred to as the incident of the Iranian dancer. Additionally, new clips have spread of an Iranian wedding held inside the shrine with strange rituals unrelated to Islamic Sharia, according to the statement's description.
The sheikdom considered that these actions explicitly violate the decision of the Minister of Religious Endowments to prohibit the holding of marriage contracts or wedding ceremonies inside mosques, adding that what happened exceeded this in terms of rituals, content, and timing, as it was said to be held under the guise of reviving an annual memory on a non-official date.
