The Ministry of Awkaf or Awqāf (Religious Endowments) stressed that the mutual exchange of congratulations on the occasion of Christian and Muslim festivities is an expression of indigenous feelings of love and affection rooted in the Egyptian people throughout history, and at the same time it embodies the fundamental national unity integrated in the Egyptian society.
Further, a delegation of governmental officials visited the papal headquarters to extend their greetings to Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II for his first Christmas as enthroned Pope of Alexandria and patriarch of the Sea of St. Mark. Dr. Yūsuf al-Qaradāwī, chief religious scholar, issued a fatwá that states that congratulating Christians on Christmas is permissible, as being an act of charity as ordered in Islam. He further, urged Christians to abandon their seclusion and unite with their Muslim "brothers" in constructing the nation.
It is noteworthy that the Islamic Legitimate Body for Rights and Reformation had issued a religious edict that banned giving holiday greetings to Copts. [Ismā’īl Rif’at, Al-Yawm Al-Sābi’, Jan. 4, p. 3] Read original text in Arabic
