Archaeologist Dr. Zahi Hawass said that there is no reason for Sheikh Ali Gomaa, the former Egyptian Grand Mufti, to speak about archaeology, because he is a cleric.
“Therefore, when he spoke about archaeology, he gave baseless information about archaeology,” Hawass added.
Hawass stressed that the former Mufti should not give televised statements about archaeology, noting that most of what Sheikh Gomaa had said have been repeated many times especially in Dr. Sayed Karim’s book entitled "The Mystery of Egyptian Civilization".
“What he said now is a repetition of what the Arab travelers said when they came to Egypt in the ninth century AD,” Hawass stressed.
“We have full evidence that King Djoser built the first pyramid, and that who changed the building from mud brick to stone is Imhotep the genius.”
As for the Sphinx, Hawass denied statement of Sheikh Gomaa who said that the face of Sphinx represents Prophet Idris.
In televised statements to the Egyptian state-owned channel 1, the member of the Council of Scholars in Al-Azhar said that “Some scholars believe that Prophet Idris was the first person to start building the pyramids and he is the inventor of the science of mummification,” adding that the face of the Sphinx in Egypt is Prophet Idris’s face.
Gomaa noted, “The Pharaohs used to depict their sanctities in shape of a bird, an animal, or any other object, but the Sphinx depicted it in the form of a human being, which corresponds to the word of the first teacher and the wise sages. This great Prophet taught mankind things before civilization.”
The former Mufti of Egypt indicated that his orientation towards the name of the Prophet Idris came from a thorough study, adding that “There are hearsay indicating that Idris is himself the Osiris whom the Pharaonic papyri are talking about.”
Contributed by Nawal Sayed
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