by MEMRI
To this very day, Al-Azhar, with its curricula, continues to teach its students to level accusations of heresy at anyone who disagrees with them and to define the construction of churches as a crime.
Recently,
articles have been published in the Egyptian press attacking Al-Azhar, Egypt's
supreme religious authority, on the grounds that its scholars are not doing
enough to implement the call of Egyptian President 'Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi to
"revolutionize" religious discourse, but instead continue to cultivate
extremism. Two particularly harsh articles were penned by Ahmad 'Abd Al-Tawab,
a columnist for the official daily Al-Ahram. He wrote that one reason
for the recent spate of attacks on Copts[1] is
Al-Azhar's extremist curricula, which poison people's minds. He added that, despite
ostensibly welcoming Al-Sisi's call to reform the religious discourse, Al-Azhar
has in fact done nothing to realize this call. [2]
The following are excerpts from his articles:
Al-Azhar inner courtyard (Image: Muslimheritage.com) Al-Azhar's Poisonous Curricula Are Responsible For Attacks On Copts; Al-Azhar Accuses Anyone Who Disagrees With It Of Heresy
In his first article, 'Abd
Al-Tawab wrote: "[Let me say,] without beating about the bush, that the
Al-Azhar institutions have not taken a single serious step in response to
President Al-Sisi's call for a religious revolution.[3] [Here is] one example of
this strange state of affairs. The state collects taxes from all its citizens,
Muslims and Copts, which join its other revenues that benefit both Muslims and
Copts. These funds pay for various public [services], among them education,
which includes Al-Azhar and its institutions and university. [Yet Al-Azhar's]
students are taught using poisonous curricula that harm the tax payer more than
anyone else, and especially the Copts! In other words, society pays to train,
educate and cultivate a group [of graduates] that hates society and is hostile
to it and attacks it as it pleases! To this very day, Al-Azhar, with its curricula,
continues to teach its students to level accusations of heresy at anyone who
disagrees with them and to define the construction of churches as a crime. In some
of the classes [taught at Al-Azhar], it is stated that churches should be
banned in [all] countries that the early Muslims conquered by the force of
arms, including Egypt. In addition,[students] are taught that anyone who does
not pray – or even prays without first performing the ritual ablutions – must
be killed, and the crime of his murder can be taken lightly.
"Some
researchers and intellectuals make an effort to inform the public of these
frightening facts, among them [Egyptian lawyer and Islamic
researcher] Ahmad Abdu Maher. He points out that Al-Azhar scholars have accused
him of heresy while they refuse to accuse ISIS of heresy.[4] In fact, some Al-Azhar
scholars have [even] said that participating in the [international] coalition
to fight ISIS is treason against Allah and His Messenger.
"Hence,
it is a mistake to say that the attacks currently taking place against Copts in
Minya and elsewhere are the acts of individuals [and not part of a larger
phenomenon]. [Al-Azhar] students will continue to study until they attain a certificate or a license
to preach at a mosque, and then they will spread what they learned among the
worshipers.
"Nearly
two years have passed since the President's call [for a religious revolution],
which was [ostensibly] welcomed by the Al-Azhar scholars. But time proves that
they [merely pretended to] show flexibility, so that the wave would pass [over
them] quietly. This underscores the importance of forming a national committee
to handle this task, which can include Al-Azhar scholars as long as they are
not a majority that will take over [the committees'] decisions. Otherwise we
will be swept into further waste of time and effort and enable extremism to
increase even more."[5]
Al-Azhar Is Not Helping To Promote
Al-Sisi's Religious Revolution
In his second article, 'Abd al-Tawab discussed Al-Sisi's meeting
with Al-Azhar Sheikh Al-Tayeb following the uniform sermon crisis,[6] and repeated his claim
that, despite ostensibly welcoming Al-Sisi's call to reform the religious
discourse, Al-Azhar has in fact done nothing to promote this cause. He wrote:
"There is a need, even a crucial need, for this revolution [as part of]
the effort to institute a constitution that lays the foundations for a modern
state. [This must be done] by strengthening the freedoms and defending them,
including the freedom of worship, of scientific research, of literary and
artistic creativity, etc., and also by strengthening all the international
treaties to which Egypt is signatory.
"Al-Azhar's
clerics were quick to welcome the president's call for a [religious]
revolution, but this was never translated into action on the ground. In fact,
for more than two years [Al-Azhar's] activity has been in the opposite
direction: it has mercilessly attacked anyone with a differing opinion without
hesitating to use the weapon of accusations of heresy, or to file lawsuits that
placed several people behind bars, and this based on laws that are assumed to
require amendment as soon as possible in order to adapt them to the new
constitution."
"The
hoped-for change [in the religious discourse] will not be achieved by means of
a breakthrough in combatting extremist ideology on the internet. That is a
waste of time and effort [because it is an attempt to] treat the symptoms and
the outcomes [of extremism] instead of focusing on the right things – such as
[reforming] the curricula that still contain horrifying expressions, improving
the teachers and adapting them to the spirit of the times, dismissing extremists
from senior positions, and enforcing the [state] law instead of [holding]
traditional reconciliation [sessions with the Copts]..."[7]
Endnotes:
[1]
Recently there has been an escalation in attacks on Copts in Egypt, especially
in the rural governorates of Minya and Beni Suef, and mainly due to rumors that
Copts are using private homes in various villages as churches.
[2] In a third article about
Al-Azhar, 'Abd Al-Tawab criticized its involvement in Egypt's foreign policy,
after Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb met with Egypt's new ambassadors. Al-Ahram
(Egypt), August 18, 2016. Also noteworthy was an article by Al-Ahram
columnist Muhammad Al-Dasuqi, who likewise wrote that this institute was not
reforming the religious discourse (Al-Ahram, Egypt, June 20, 2016), and
an article was by journalist Khaled Al-Montasser, who wrote in Al-Watan on
June 24, 2016 that Al-Azhar was delaying the publication of a comprehensive
paper on the renewal of religious discourse written by senior Al-Azhar scholar Dr.
Salah Fadl. Al-Watan also published a series of articles about
corruption in Al-Azhar's institutions. See Al-Watan (Egypt), August 3, 2016; July 13, 20, 27, 2016; June
8, 15, 22, 29, 2016, May 4, 11, 25, 2016; April 13, 20, 2016.
[3] Al-Sisi called for a
"religious revolution" in a December 2014 speech. Even before this he
endorsed the call made by Mansour Adly, who served as interim president of
Egypt before Al-Sisi's election, to "renew the religious discourse."
See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6114, Egyptian Columnists
On Al-Sisi Regime's Campaign For 'Renewal Of Religious Discourse' As A Way Of
Fighting Terrorism, July 23, 2015.
[4]
On Al-Azhar's refusal to call ISIS heretical, see MEMRI Special Dispatch No.
5910, Al-Azhar:
The Islamic State (ISIS) Is A Terrorist Organization, But It Must Not Be
Accused Of Heresy, December 21, 2014.
[5]
Al-Ahram (Egypt), July 25, 2016.
[6]
On this affair, see MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6556, Egypt's Al-Azhar
Opposes Ministry Of Religious Endowments Plan For Uniform Friday Sermon, August
4, 2016.
MEMRI
Source: http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/9410.htm
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