Recall in 2015 the highly publicized call by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi for a religious “revolution” and reform of Islam, a call that drew global accolades.
Sisi declared, among other things:
- “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.”
- 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!
To accept that anything needs reform is to accept that there is something about it that is wrong in the first place that needs correction. This is the difficulty in Islam, which Allah calls “perfect” in the Qur’an (5:3). Yet the presence of texts in the Quran and Hadith that lead to human rights abuses is irrefutable. It is also irrefutable that far too many Muslims obey those texts. Nevertheless, denial persists, as claims about these texts being “misinterpreted” are still commonly circulated.
The Reverend Canon Andrew White, aka. “The Vicar of Baghdad,” stated:
The trouble is a lack of forgiveness in Islam. I have looked through the Quran trying to find forgiveness… there isn’t any. If you find it, tell me. This makes it very difficult to talk to Isis because they can show you quite clearly that it is what Allah wants. They can justify their position when Allah says you should combat and fight the infidel and they say, “Well, these are infidels.” So the question is, how can you prove that these are not infidels? And you can’t.
As it turns out, the hope that many people immediately placed in al-Sisi’s call for a “revolution” in Islam, and for “reform,” was simplistic. Egypt has now reiterated its “rejection to linking terrorist acts with Islam.”
Even after al-Sisi first declared a “religious revolution” five years ago, he retreated from that statement later in the same speech by making a distinction between a “religious” revolution and one of “thinking.” Robert Spencer wrote about it in January 2015:
The distinction Sisi makes here is all-important: “I am not saying ‘religion’ but ‘thinking’” — in other words, the problem is not Islamic doctrine, but “the corpus of texts and ideas that we have sacralized over the years.” Apparently, then, el-Sisi is saying that the problem is not Islam’s sacred texts themselves, but interpretations of them that have become widespread and even mainstream. So apparently he fits into the camp of those who say that Islam properly understood will not give rise to violence, terrorism and supremacism.
No one who speaks about “misinterpretations” of Islam can offer a reason as to why, after 1400 years, Islam continues to conquer with the sword (an imperative that is based on Islamic texts; see HERE), and work for the same goal in the West via stealth means.
In the words of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan:
We do not seek reform in religion, which is beyond our capability … Our holy Quran has and will always have words to say. Its commandments will never change.
“Egypt reiterates rejection to linking terrorist acts with Islam,” Egypt Today, November 29, 2020:
CAIRO – 29 November 2020: At a meeting for the Council of Foreign Ministers of Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) under the title “United Against Terrorism for Peace and Development”, Egypt reiterates its refusal to link terrorist acts with Islam, according to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Saturday.
Representing Egypt, Deputy Foreign Minister for African Affairs Ambassador Hamdi Sanad Loza addressed the two-day meetings on the necessity to fight terrorism, beside tackling other issues of Islamophobia, the Palestinian cause, Libya, and other conflicts in a number of Islamic countries.
He also highlighted the importance of launching the Cairo-based Organization for Women’s Development, congratulating Sudan on signing the peace agreement with the armed movements in Juba.
Loza affirmed Egypt’s commitment to support efforts of Sahel countries in the face of terrorism and the efforts made to achieve security and peace in Libya, Yemen and Syria…..
Ramez says
As an Egyptian Atheist, I’ve been hearing, 5 times a day, for as long as I can remember, Imams and Sheikhs yelling at the top of their lungs, through megaphones and sound amplifiers, Koran 9:5 (i.e., “the Verse of the Sword” which is the 5th Verse of the 9th Sura that’s the one before last last chronologically of the fucking Koran), 9:29, and 47:4, as well as the prescriptively violent, genocidal anti-Kafir Ahadeeth that have been relayed by El-Imam El-Nawawy.
Infidel says
Given jihadist events that have gone on in Egypt during Sisi’s regime – even after that supposedly great speech – I’d treat Egypt as just a tactical ally in most cases, such as confronting Turkish hegemony and backing Haftar in Libya. But I wouldn’t look at them even as I’d look at, say, the Emirates or Bahrein
gravenimage says
Egypt reiterates refusal to link terrorist acts with Islam
……………..
Stilll lying…
Think About It says
The fun thing about Egyptian government policy is that, instead of “terrorist,” they use the term “takfiri” for groups like ISIS. “Takfiri” is a Muslim who calls you a kafir. Only in Islam is this a serious problem. If a Christian calls you a non-Christian, who cares? But everyone in Egypt understands that when ISIS calls you a kafir, it’s a death sentence because, in Islamic doctrine, a kafir is to be killed. So the Egyptian government itself underscores the clear connection between terrorism and Islam.
Infidel says
Takfir – muslim on muslim war – is actually the best thing for us infidels. Go back to the last century and ask yourself whether the Yemeni war b/w North and South Yemen, that had Nasser supporting the communist side and the Saudis supporting the other – whether that wasn’t good in terms of drawing both Muslim money (Saudis) and manpower (Egyptians). Or the Iran-Iraq war of the 80s that drained the finances of not just Iran and Iraq, but a few of Iraq’s allies as well.
That’s why I’m thrilled that the Iran vs sunnis rift has been replaced by Turkey vs Arabs, where the 2 sides are more evenly matched. Hopefully, the armies of both sides are kept busy w/ each other, and don’t have the time or energy to spend on external enemies, be it Israel, Greece, Armenia, India, or anyone else
vcragain says
Humans prepared to kill other humans because they do not agree with their ideas about ‘God’ is the most ridiculous fight on the planet, but once they have the stuff inside their brains they are apparently unable to see anything else – all rational thinking is gone ! Reason enough to avoid giving up your soul to ANY religion ! Anybody with half a brain must know that nbody can prove any belief system is the right one, if you feel the need just ‘talk’ to whoever is up there listening but you will NOT get a reply of course, & realize that all ‘books’ are written by humans whatever they may claim. If you want proof of just how easy it is to pull humans into a crazy belief system you only have to look at how the Joseph ‘Angel Moroni story’ created the Mormon belief system….yet many millions are tied up into that crazy cult, convinced that it is real !
Honest Ali says
The Islamic nations willful refusal to link terrorism to Islam is part of a massive disinformation and propaganda campaign against Kuffar nations as part of Jihad. Muhammad said, “War is deceit”.
Ren says
People don’ need muslims to link terrorist acts with Islam. Terrorist acts speak for themselves.
Linda M Gusch says
As we say in Brooklyn, ” you can’t fix stupid”!
OLD GUY says
Most terrorist acts are committed by Islam against Christians and Jews. If you don’t want terrorist in your country don’t allow muslims or islamic followers in. It’s simple islam wants world control over everyone, if you don’t follow islamic rule you will be enslaved or murdered according to their belief in Muhammad and Quran. If you want freedom of choice and speech you will have to fight islam.