Hawzah News Agency (Tehran, Iran) - Five Egyptian Qaris and Quran memorizers were present in different sections of Iran's 35th International Quran Competition, which was held in April.
The Devotees of Alul Bayt Institute, a Salafi and anti-Shia group in Egypt, has criticized their presence in Iran, saying they have breached the law.
"Where are Al-Azhar (Islamic center), the Awqaf Ministry and the Association of Quran Reciters," it said in a statement.
It claimed that the presence of Egyptian Quran activists in Iran “paves the way for Iran’s infiltration in Egypt."
An Egyptian lawmaker has also reacted to the five Quran activists' trip to Iran, describing it as unacceptable.
Omar Hamroush, a member of the parliament’s religious commission, said serious action should be taken against those who breach the laws against traveling to Iran.
Since a few years ago, Egypt has forbidden any trip without permission to Iran by the Arab country's scholars, Quran recites and prayer leaders.
In 2015, the Egyptian Awqaf ministry banned two of the country's prominent Qaris from reciting the Quran for having made a trip to Iran without obtaining permission from the ministry.
Some anti-Shia groups in Egypt claim that Iran organizes visits by Egyptian Quran reciters to the Islamic Republic with the aim of infiltrating al-Azhar or spreading Shia Islam.
Tehran has rejected such assertions times and again, stressing that invitations for Egyptian Qaris and Quran masters to visit Iran are made with the purpose of enhancing the Quranic ties between the two Muslim nations.