President Sisi of Egypt has called for a “religious revolution” to combat Muslim extremism, marking the boldest attempt yet by the former military leader to position himself at the vanguard of moderate Islam. In a speech made to clerics of at the Al-Azhar complex, the highest seat of Sunni learning during new year celebrations for the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, President Sisi said it was the responsibility of religious figures to correct the radical thinking of Islamic State and al-Qaeda. “I say and repeat, again, that we are in need of a religious revolution. You imams are responsible before God. The entire world is waiting on you . . . the Islamic world is being torn, it is being destroyed, it is being lost. And it is being lost by our own hands,” Mr Sisi said. “It’s inconceivable that the thinking that we hold most sacred should cause the entire Islamic world to be a source of anxiety, danger, killing and destruction for the rest of the world,” he added. Instead, he demanded a “truly enlightened” review of how religious texts were read. The speech is part of a growing effort by the former military leader to present himself as the friendly face of a modernised Islam after overthrowing President Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group that the state has labelled as extremist. Since the takeover in July 2013, thousands of anti-government protesters have been arrested and hundreds killed as Mr Sisi’s government has sought to stamp out dissent. The heavy-handed tactics were initially criticised by the UK and the US, which froze its annual military aid to the country. However, with the rise of Isis and renewed extremist activity, Mr Sisi has new room for manoeuvre. His staged-managed speeches are also helping to garner support back home, where his government is waging a domestic war on terror and sectarianism. On Wednesday he became the first Egyptian president to attend a Coptic Christmas Eve mass, which Pope Tawadros II described as a surprise and unplanned visit. Mr Sisi told the Christian congregation, who overwhelmingly voted for him in last year’s presidential elections, that his presence showed the country was unified. “It is important that the whole world watch us, the Egyptians,” he added. His efforts have even won him the nickname the “Muslim Martin Luther” spearheading a much-needed reformation of Islam. But Mr Sisi has faced criticism that his demand for a “religious revolution” — an ad-libbed comment that strayed from the approved speech text, his senior advisers told The Times — had exceeded his remit as the president by meddling in religion. “It was not the president’s affair” to chastise clerics with “this tone”, wrote Salah al-Fadl, a commentator in the normally pro-regime Youm7 newspaper. Said Abdel-Azim, leader of the ultraconservative Egyptian Salafist Call group, labelled it a “coup on religion” and demanded that Mr Sisi “repent”. The Muslim Brotherhood called the speech “rude” and “daring” and started the hashtag “heretic_Sisi”. Al-Azhar, which is responsible for issuing guidance on Islamic affairs, hastily clarified that the president was not attempting to change texts. A spokesman for the president said that calls for reform were part of the president’s global “strategy to combat terrorism”.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 22:39:53 +0000
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