Majidi, an internationally acclaimed filmmaker known for his realism and humanistic perspectives, decried the Al-Azhar scholars for abandoning their duty to speak out against oppression targeting Muslims, from Gaza to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
His message came as the Israeli-American war, which began on February 28 with the assassination of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, against Iran entered its fourth week with no end in sight.
The director of Muhammad: The Messenger of God delivered his strongest rebuke to the scholars and professors of Al-Azhar University in Egypt, a world-renowned religious institution that he said takes its name from Lady Fatima Zahra and once served as the leading voice of Sunni Islam, championing unity and solidarity among Muslims.
"I am disappointed and angry with the scholars and professors of Al-Azhar University in Egypt, an institution that takes its name from Lady Fatima Zahra, from which once the first and last word of Sunni Islam was heard, and whose purpose and slogan was unity and solidarity with all Muslims," Majidi wrote in the message.
He questioned how these religious figures can witness the bloodshed inflicted by the "usurping Israeli regime" against an Islamic country and its people, yet remain silent.
"How is it that they witness the aggression and bloodshed of the usurping Israeli regime against an Islamic country and its Muslim people, yet remain silent?" he asked.
"How do they observe the brutal attacks of the domineering United States and witness the massacre of hundreds of defenseless children, men, and women, yet sit idly by in silence?"
Majidi drew a sharp distinction between scholars who depend on the patronage of "oil-rich tyrants" and those who claim to uphold Islamic principles.
While saying that he has no expectations from the former, he condemned Al-Azhar scholars for defending "the Abu Jahls of our time" rather than siding with the oppressed.
"Please tell us, if they possess knowledge that there will be no Day of Judgment, that they will never stand before God, the Messenger, and Lady Fatima, then let us know as well," Majidi noted, invoking the ultimate accountability in Islamic theology.
Al-Azhar University, one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in the Sunni Muslim world, has refused to take a clear stand in the ongoing war against Iran.
The filmmaker's message adds a cultural and religious dimension to the growing chorus of criticism directed at Arab and Islamic countries and institutions for failing to take a firm stand against the Israeli-American aggression on Iran, as well as in Gaza and Lebanon.
Majidi, known for award-winning films such as Children of Heaven, The Color of Paradise, and Muhammad: The Messenger of God, has long used his platform to address social and political issues affecting the Islamic world.
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