Islamic law does not contain any legal objection to the possi-bility of building churches using money belonging to Muslims. This relevant observation, full of possible applications with respect to situations of potential sectarian conflict in many coun-tries with a Muslim majority, also deserves attention for the authoritativeness of the source: this is what Sheikh Shawki Ibra-him Abdel-Karim Allam, current Gran Mufti of Egypt, said during his speech on a television pro-gram conducted by the journalist Hamdi Rizk.

The Egyptian Grand Mufti, in his speech, indicated Egypt as the Country with a Muslim majo-rity where more public resources are used in the construction of Christian places of worship, indi-cating this figure as a manifesta-tion of strong national social cohesion. Shawki Allam (in the photo together with Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros) referred to the teachings of Mohammad who, even when he justifies military self-defense campaigns, commands not to destroy places of worship and not to kill monks. The Egyptian Grand Mufti also intervened on the reconversion of the ancient Hagia Sofia Basilica in Istanbul ordered by Turkish authorities. In this regard, Sheikh Shawki Allam said it was illegal to convert a church into a mosque, declaring that in the history of Egypt no Christian place of worship has been transformed into a Muslim place of worship.