MEMRI May 14, 2016 Clip No. 5477
Former President of Al-Azhar University Osama Al-'Abd: We Must Reform Our
Religious Discourse to Confront the Extremists
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5477.htm

Addressing the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, which convened in Aswan,
Osama Al-'Abd, former president of Al-Azhar University, called for reform in
the Islamic religious discourse. Al-'Abd said that the world does not stand
still and that people who do not renew themselves become weak and perish.
The conference was aired on Channel 1 of the Egyptian TV on May 14, 2016.


Following are excerpts

Osama Al-'Abd : There is an attempt to bring the Islamic nation to its
deathbed, a plot to make it weak. You are the ones entrusted with its
protection. A heavy responsibility rests upon our shoulders. If we do not
rise to the challenge, we shall be held accountable by Allah. It is
legitimate to reform and develop the religious discourse, because the world
does not stand still, and there is a new thing every day. If people do not
renew themselves, they become weak and perish. Therefore, we must always
examine the Quran and the sunna of the Prophet Muhammad. People would ask
the Prophet Muhammad questions, and he would issue different rulings to
different people, to each according to his needs. This is the meaning of
reform and development.

[…]

We have some deep-rooted principles that we do not question, or allow anyone
to question. But the circumstances of the Islamic nation today are
difficult, requiring us to reform our way of thinking. Active Muslims and
active religious scholars are what is needed now. We do not need passive
scholars. In all honesty, we must all think in an active way, in order to
confront the dark extremism that is always associated with Islam, even
though Islam has nothing to do with it. [The extremists] have done more harm
to us than to others. Therefore, we must reexamine ourselves and our
institutions in an honest and critical manner. Have they fulfilled their
obligations? Have we? This is what we are doing in this conference.

[…]

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