The Al-Azhar Shia Fatwa is an Islamic fatwa issued in 1959 on the topic of Shi'a–Sunni relations by the renowned Sunni scholar Shaikh Mahmood Shaltoot.
The fatwa is the fruit of a decade-long collaborative effort between a group of Sunni and Shi'a scholars at the Dar al-Taqreeb al-Madhahib al-Islamiyyah ("center for bringing together the various Islamic schools of thought") theological center at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. The aim of the effort is to bridge the gap between the various Islamic schools of thought, and to foster mutual respect, understanding and appreciation of each school's contributions to the development of Islamic jurisprudence.[1]
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After a long period of discussion, the Fatwa was announced on July 6, 1959 and was summarized as follows:
1) Islam does not require a Muslim to follow a particular Madh'hab (school of thought). Rather, we say: every Muslim has the right to follow one of the schools of thought which has been correctly narrated and its verdicts have been compiled in its books. And, everyone who is following such Madhahib [schools of thought] can transfer to another school, and there shall be no crime on him for doing so.
2) The Ja'fari school of thought, which is also known as "al-Shia al- Imamiyyah al-Ithna Ashariyyah" (i.e., The Twelver Imami Shi'ites) is a school of thought that is religiously correct to follow in worship as are other Sunni schools of thought.
Today, both Sunni and Shi'a students study at and graduate from the Al-Azhar University.
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