Egyptian President Sisi Calls for Reform of Islam
Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah, February 15, 2015
Jerusalem Issue Briefs Vol. 15, No. 5 February 15, 2015
Institute for Contemporary Affairs
Founded jointly with the Wechsler Family Foundation
http://jcpa.org/article/sisi-calls-for-reform-of-islam/

-The implementation of jihadist ideology today has unleashed fierce military
and terrorist assaults against most Arab regimes; the application of the
most severe interpretations of Islamic penal law; expressions of despicable
cruelty on the battlefield against Shi’a combatants in Syria and Iraq;
ethnic cleansing; and persecution of Christian populations.
-Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi confronted the issue of jihadism in
an address to Islamic scholars at Al-Azhar University on January 1, 2015.
-Sisi: “Is it possible that 1.6 billion people [Muslims] should want to kill
the rest of the world’s inhabitants – that is 7 billion – so that they
themselves may live? Impossible!”
-“We are in need of a religious revolution. You, imams, are responsible
before Allah. The entire world is waiting for your next move.”
-Yet true reform requires scholars of Islam, not “strong” politicians. Islam
is in need of innovators who can cope with the reality of the 21st century
and repudiate its misinterpretation carried out by jihadi Islam. Sisi is not
likely to be that reformer.

Egyptian President Sisi’s speech on January 1, 2015, could represent the
beginning of a theological, cultural and behavioral reaction from the broad
Arab body-politic toward the excesses generated from the so-called “Arab
Spring” that became the nightmare of most Arab and Muslim regimes, as well
as for many Western countries.

The implementation of jihadist ideology today has unleashed fierce military
and terrorist assaults against most Arab regimes; the application of the
most severe interpretations of Islamic penal law in the areas under the
control of the jihadists; expressions of despicable cruelty on the
battlefield against Shi’a combatants in Syria and Iraq; ethnic cleansing;
persecution of Christian populations and non-combatant minorities; and
inhumane treatment of hostages and prisoners of war. All these plagues have
generated a wave of shock and awakened the Arab and Muslim world to the
hideous fact that the Salafi movement – sponsored and financed for years by
Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states – has unleashed a monster that is steadily
expanding.

It was not until the fiery execution of the Jordanian pilot, Lt. Moaz
al-Kasasbeh, that the issue of the interpretation of Islamic law was raised
as an issue between jihadists and mainstream clerics. It was clear that
jihadists had opted for the most severe interpretation of the Koran as
dictated by Ibn Taymiyyah (1263-1328), the Sunni Islamic scholar, pioneer of
the Salafi movement and the jihadists’ spiritual inspiration and model.
Mainstream clerics claimed this interpretation was wrong, illegal, and
immoral.

Kasasbeh’s ordeal may spark a debate on where Islam is headed: until
recently, very few Muslim leaders and clerics, if any, had raised their
voice against the jihadist ideology, considering it to be a phenomenon of a
political expression of Islam rather than a theological issue to be tackled.

With this as a background, Egyptian President Sisi may be a pioneer in the
sense that he has preceded all other Arab leaders and clerics in addressing
and confronting the issue of jihadism. No political figure before him, nor
any Muslim religious thinker, had previously dared to deal with the issue
and voice calls for change.

“We Are in Need of a Religious Revolution”

President Sisi visited Al-Azhar University on January 1, 2015, and addressed
Egypt’s religious leadership. Sisi said, inter alia:

I am referring here to the religious clerics. We have to think hard about
what we are facing – and I have, in fact, addressed this topic a couple of
times before. It is inconceivable that the thinking (fikr – in this context
it is “wrong” ideas) that we hold most sacred should cause the entire umma
(Islamic nation) to be a source of anxiety, danger, killing and destruction
for the rest of the world. Impossible!

That thinking (fikr) – I am not saying “religion” (din) but “thinking” –
that corpus of texts and ideas that we have held sacred over the years, to
the point that departing from them has become almost impossible, is
antagonizing the entire world. It’s antagonizing the entire world!

Is it possible that 1.6 billion people (Muslims) should want to kill the
rest of the world’s inhabitants – that is 7 billion – so that they
themselves may live? Impossible!

I am saying these words here at Al Azhar, before this assembly of scholars
and ulema (learned men) – Allah Almighty be witness to your truth on
Judgment Day concerning that which I’m talking about now.

All this that I am telling you, you cannot feel it if you remain trapped
within this mindset. You need to step outside of yourselves to be able to
observe it and reflect on it from a more enlightened perspective.

I say and repeat again that we are in need of a religious revolution. You
imams are responsible before Allah. The entire world, I say it again, the
entire world is waiting for your next move…because this umma is being torn,
it is being destroyed, it is being lost – and it is being lost by our own
hands.1

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 22, 2015, the
Egyptian president had tough words against global terrorism and Islamic
extremism. Sisi condemned the plague of terrorism that spilled blood across
the globe, saying that blood in Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Mali, Libya, Lebanon,
Canada, and France was “of the same color.” But he used cautiously chosen
words to describe Islamic terrorism as the action of a “minority” that
“distorted religion.”

Sisi continued, “I assert with all firmness that Islam is a religion whose
values of tolerance, embraced by more than a billion followers, should not
be evaluated through the acts of criminals and murderers.” Sisi added that
Muslims must “seek reform” and “re-evaluate their positions” so as not to
allow a “minority” to “distort” their history, jeopardize their present, and
threaten their future on the basis of a “mistaken understanding or
inadequate interpretation of the principles of religion.” As for Western
nations, they had to refrain from confrontation and from “hurting Muslims’
feelings” in combating terrorism, for this would play into the hands of
those seeking to show that conflict was inevitable.

In a brief interview held following his address at Davos, Sisi was asked to
elaborate on what he meant at al-Azhar by “a religious revolution.” Sisi
explained: “Islam’s teachings of tolerance weren’t always clear to the rest
of world over the last 20-30 years. Terrible terrorist attacks and the
[resulting] disastrous portrayal of Muslims led us to suggest taking a hard
look at the religious discourse to weed out erratic ideas that led to
violence and extremism.”2

In fact, there is nothing new in what Sisi said. His speech was but another
expression of his view of Islam, a view that has been out in the open from
the very beginning of his public exposure. In a speech at the Department of
Moral Affairs of the Armed Forces in 2013, Sisi declared that “religious
discourse is the greatest battle and challenge facing the Egyptian people,”
and pointed to the need for a new vision and a modern comprehensive
understanding of the religion of Islam, rather than relying on a discourse
that has not changed for 800 years. Sisi further “called on all who follow
the true Islam to improve the image of this religion in front of the world,
after Islam has been for decades convicted of violence and destruction
around the world, due to the crimes falsely committed in the name of Islam.”3

In this context it is worth recalling the words of American scholar and
president of the Middle East Forum Daniel Pipes: “No matter how fine Sisi’s
ideas, no politician – and especially no strongman – has moved modern Islam.
Ataturk’s reforms in Turkey are systematically being reversed. A decade ago,
King Abdullah II of Jordan and President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan gave
similarly fine speeches on ‘the true voice of Islam’ and ‘enlightened
moderation’ that immediately disappeared from view. Sisi’s comments are
stronger, but he is not a religious authority and, in all likelihood, they,
too, will disappear without a trace.”4

However, unlike his Western counterparts who make-believe that the current
wave of violence has nothing to do with Islam, it is of some comfort to hear
the head of the largest Arab country speak once more so directly about Islam
and how it is being used to terrorize the world. This is not a big surprise
to those who have followed Sisi.5

Yet true reform requires scholars of Islam, not “strong” politicians. Islam
is in need of innovators who can cope with the reality of the 21st century
and repudiate its misinterpretation carried out by jihadi Islam. Sisi is not
likely to be that reformer.

Recognizing the limitations of his power, Sisi admitted that the issue of
“revolution” had been referred to Al-Azhar’s ulema because “they were the
ones in charge of the state of the Islamic nation” and, as such,
“responsible for bringing the religious discourse in harmony with the spirit
of the times.”

* * *

Notes

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4WMVFz07Sc

2.
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/01/elsisi_modifies_stance_on_islamic_reform_at_davos.html#ixzz3R9TtSa1j

3. See more at
http://jcpa.org/article/egyptian-field-marshal-abd-el-fattah-el-sisi-profile/#sthash.FiOae3K5.dpuf

4.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/396642/sisi-and-reform-islam-daniel-pipes

5.
http://legalinsurrection.com/2015/01/egypts-president-sisi-calls-for-islamic-religious-revolution/;
http://www.oasiscenter.eu/fr/articles/religions-et-espace-public/2015/01/19/la-r%C3%A9volution-de-l-islam-selon-le-pr%C3%A9sident-al-sisi


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About Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah

Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah, a special analyst for the Middle East at the
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, was formerly Foreign Policy Advisor to
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Deputy Head for Assessment of Israeli
Military Intelligence.
- See more at:
http://jcpa.org/article/sisi-calls-for-reform-of-islam/#sthash.YOeRQKZW.dpuf