Former Azhar cleric slams religious extremism in Egypt

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Former Azhar cleric slams religious extremism in Egypt

CAIRO: A former deputy sheikh at Egypt’s al-Azhar has slammed recent “extremist” discourse in the country during the election period.

Former Deputy of the Sunni Islamic world’s most respected institution Sheikh Mahmoud Ashour was speaking to al-Arabiya news network on Monday.

He lashed out at recent statements from Egyptian Salafists – those who adhere to an ultra-conservative literal interpretation of Islam – who recently called on some of Egypt’s ancient monuments to be “covered” and said they were idols.

“Those people are neither knowledgeable nor responsible enough to be talking to people,” he told the network.

The former Azhar sheikh said that the supposed preachers in the country have little right to make statements that, in his view, go against the foundation of Islam as a tolerant and open faith.

“None of those had a problem with ancient Egyptian monuments or thought they have to be destroyed or that they are against Islam,” he said in reference to Islamic conquerors of Egypt and leaders of the faith in the country over the past few centuries.

He was also critical of the sentiments surfacing toward democracy and Islam. Ashour said that those who claim democracy is a form of apostasy are being misled, adding that democracy was mentioned in the Qur’an.

“Several verses in the Quran talk about the concept of ‘shura’ or consultation and the prophet applied this concept all the time. This is what democracy is about,” he said.

His statement was confirmation of earlier comments made by Dar al-Iftaa, the body in charge of issuing Islamic opinions, or fatwas, who argued that Islam and democracy have “no contradictions.”

There is a growing fear inside Egypt that with the rise of the Salafist groups, most notably the al-Nour Party – which won a surprise 20 percent of first round votes – that a more conservative Islam could begin to take form in terms of governance and societal norms.

Earlier this week, a representative of the al-Nour Party at a tourism conference in Aswan, in southern Egypt, said that if their party were to take power they would ban alcohol and bikinis, only giving foreigners the opportunity to drink inside their hotel rooms.