The Qur’an depicts the Jews as inveterately evil and bent on destroying the well-being of the Muslims. They are the strongest of all people in enmity toward the Muslims (5:82); they fabricate things and falsely ascribe them to Allah (2:79; 3:75, 3:181); they claim that Allah’s power is limited (5:64); they love to listen to […]
Al-Azhar spokesman: “Not within the power of Al-Azhar” to declare the Muslims who attacked mosque “infidels”
In June 2009 at al-Azhar, Barack Obama said: “For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning.” In October 2001, right after 9/11, the New York Times called Al-Azhar “the revered mosque, the distinguished university, the leading voice of the Sunni Muslim establishment.” It quoted a Muslim cleric: “Al Azhar […]
Pope in Egypt: “Let us say… ‘No!’ to every form of violence…carried out in the name of religion”
It’s hard to be Egyptian: water turning to blood, frogs, lice, wild animals, diseased livestock, boils, hailstorms, locusts, darkness, death of firstborn, and now Pope Francis. Seriously, Francis notes the “incompatibility of violence and faith” and says: “Let us say once more a firm and clear ‘No!’ to every form of violence, vengeance and hatred […]
Al-Azhar, the foremost institution in Sunni Islam, refuses to declare the Islamic State apostate
In June 2009 at al-Azhar, Barack Obama said: “For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning.” In October 2001, right after 9/11, the New York Times called Al-Azhar “the revered mosque, the distinguished university, the leading voice of the Sunni Muslim establishment.” It quoted a Muslim cleric: “Al Azhar […]
Egypt: Sisi calls for restrictions on verbal divorce, al-Azhar says no
In Islamic law, all a man need do in order to divorce his wife is say to her, “Taaleq,” that is “(You are) divorced.” If he says it once or twice, he can take her back simply if he decides to do so. But if he says it three times, he cannot take her back […]
Egypt: Christians still denied churches while government opens 10 mosques every week
One week before the bombing of St. Peter’s cathedral chapel which left at least 25 Christians dead, hostility for Christian churches was being shown in the usual, less spectacular way. Egyptian authorities and politicians held a meeting sponsored by Al Azhar, the nation’s topmost authority on Islam, in the village of Naghameesh, Sohag. Those present […]
Top Muslim university rejects reform, stands by “terrorist curriculum”
Much of the curriculum of Al Azhar—the Islamic world’s most prestigious university, located in Cairo—is based on Islamic books written in the medieval era or earlier. These books—histories, biographies of Muhammad, hadith (words and deeds of the latter), tafsirs (Koran exegeses), etc.—are often criticized by more reform-minded Muslims for being too backwards, teaching things such […]
Egypt: Top Islamic institution preaches “religious freedom” to West, while supporting death penalty for apostates at home
In a statement titled, “The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies Calls on Al Azhar’s Sheikh to Renounce His Remarks Which Contradict Religious Freedom and Support Violent Extremism,” the institute blasted Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb’s recent remarks concerning apostasy, first reported in the English here. Though Tayeb is often portrayed as a “moderate” and “reformer,” the […]
Muslim cleric says Pokemon Go is un-Islamic
“Allah did not create man so that he could have fun. The aim of creation was for mankind to be put to the test through hardship and prayer. An Islamic regime must be serious in every field. There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humor in Islam. There is no fun in Islam. […]
Egypt’s highest Islamic authority — a “moderate” — says apostasy punishable by death
The line between “moderate” and “radical” Muslim continues to fade. On the question of apostasy in Islam—whether a born or converted Muslim has the right to abandon Islam for another or no religion—the radical position is well known: unrepentant apostates are to be punished with death. Yet one of the Muslim world’s greatest authorities, the […]