By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI—Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Egypt immediately after he completed the official tour of the U.S., where his presence was opposed by a section of the Indian diaspora as well as the American lawmakers, was directed more at getting legitimacy in the Muslim world rather than strengthening bilateral relations with the North African country.
Modi flew in to Cairo directly from Washington, DC, after completing his three-day visit to the U.S.
Modi has gone to Egypt on the invitation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who was the chief guest at India’s 74th Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi on January 26 this year. This is the first bilateral visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Egypt in 26 years, as Modi and El-Sisi had decided to elevate the relations of the two countries to the level of strategic partnership during the latter’s visit to New Delhi. El-Sisi was the first Egyptian President invited to the Republic Day function.
The Egypt visit has been made close on heels of Modi’s controversial tour to the U.S., where objections were raised through protests on the streets, letters sent to President Joe Biden and resolutions passed by civil society groups over Modi’s track record of violence against Muslims and the anti-Muslim policies of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Despite this, the two sides announced a long list of deliverables in the fields of defence, critical and emerging technology, health, energy and mobility.
The selection of an important Arab country and the most populous nation in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for the state visit at this juncture forms part of Modi’s strategy to get rid of the world-wide perception of his government being anti-Muslim and take advantage of Egypt’s geo-strategic position, as 12% of the global trade passes through its Suez Canal, giving India a greater access to the European markets.
While the American administration made the best possible efforts to shield Modi during his visit and highlighted India’s democratic system and the ostensible values of pluralism, a sense of scepticism prevailed among the citizens in the U.S. with even former President Barack Obama, who Modi claims to be his close friend, making an appeal to him to protect the religious minorities in India. In his tour to Egypt, Modi apparently wishes to remove this tag by meeting Grant Mufti Shawky Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam and visiting the historic 11th century Al-Hakim Masjid in Cairo.
Indian External Affairs Ministry’s spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said Modi’s Egypt tour is a “very quick and reciprocal visit” coming just within six months of President El-Sisi’s visit to India. “We do expect and are confident that the visit will not just ensure continuing momentum to the relationship between our two countries, but will also help it expand to new areas of trade and economic engagement,” Bagchi said.
The visit is important from Egypt’s point of view as well, since the North African country desires to diversify its partnerships beyond the Western bloc. Egypt, which is gradually losing its voice in regional affairs, such as in Palestine, Ethiopia, Sudan and many African countries, also wants to get support beyond the continent. It is looking for investments from India to meet its foreign debt obligations and maintain food security and currency value, which has been adversely affected after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Modi has utilised his visit to make an attempt to increase his proximity to the Arab Muslim community and send across a message to Indian Muslims. He visited Al-Hakim Masjid in Cairo, named after Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the sixth Fatimid Caliph and 16th Ismaili Imam, which is
considered to be an important cultural site for India’s Dawoodi Bohra community, as it has extended help in its repair and restoration.
Dawoodi Bohras are believed to have originated from Fatimids and later shifted to Yemen, before establishing a presence in India in the 11th century.
The mosque was reconstructed and refurbished in white marble and gold trim by Da’i al-Mutlaq (head and spiritual leader) of Dawoodi Bohras, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, in 1980. Later, the community participated in a comprehensive restoration project in partnership with Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in 2017 and the renovated mosque was unveiled and made accessible to visitors and worshippers in February 2023. In this phase, the Masjid’s facades, marble floors, and interior Quranic inscriptions were restored.
Modi enjoys cordial relations with the Dawoodi Bohra community, which has a significant presence in Gujarat, Maharashtra and southern Rajasthan, ever since he served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. His influence on the community, largely comprising traders, industrialists and businessmen, has won him their support for the BJP. As the Gujarat CM in 2011, he was invited by Dawoodi Bohras to celebrate the 100th birthday of Syedna Burhanuddin, and after his death in 2014, he visited Mumbai to offer condolences to his son and successor, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin.
Al-Hakim Masjid is the fourth oldest mosque in Cairo and the second Fatimid mosque to be built in the city. The mosque covers an area of 13,560 square metres, with the iconic central courtyard occupying 5,000 square metres. India’s Ambassador to Egypt Ajit Gupte said before Modi’s visit to the mosque that the Prime Minister had a very close attachment to the Dawoodi Bohra community who had also been in Gujarat for many years and it would be an occasion for him to again visit a very important religious site for the Bohra community. Modi sought to create an impression by visiting the mosque that Muslims are treated equally in India and there is no institutional discrimination against them.
In an attempt to build up the image of a liberal and democratic leader promoting inclusivity and pluralism on his home turf, Modi also met the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawky Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam, and discussed with him the issues related to promoting social harmony and countering extremism and radicalisation. He also apprised the Grand Mufti that India would set up a Centre of Excellence in IT at the Dar-al-Ifta under the Ministry of Social Justice of Egypt. The Grand Mufti had earlier met Modi at one of the Sufi conferences in New Delhi.
President El-Sisi conferred Egypt’s highest state honour, “Order of the Nile” award, on Modi on Saturday. Instituted in 1915, the award is conferred upon heads of states, Crown Princes and Vice-Presidents who offer Egypt or humanity invaluable services. Modi and El-Sisi met separately and discussed ways to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries with a focus on improving trade and investments, energy ties and people-to-people ties.
