Victory
03-01-09, 09:57
Egypt: Authorities Reportedly Launch Campaign To Counter ‘Salafi Tide’
Report by Nabil Sharaf al-Din: “After Years of Supporting Salafism To Counter the Muslim Brothers and the Jehadists, Egyptian Authorities Launch a Campaign To Counter a Salafi Tide Among Youths”
The Salafi trend has been spreading in the Egyptian society over the past few years in a conspicuous manner. This has made political and security circles apprehensive about the implicit danger in this and led recently to the launching of a plan to confront this large expansion of Salafi thinking, especially among youths. Within this framework, the Egyptian Ministry of Religious Endowments has distributed a new book to preachers working in its mosques stressing the need to correct what it sees as inaccurate concepts propounded by the Salafis.
Security estimates say that the activities of Salafi groups have been spreading in Egypt in a notable way that led some to suspect deliberate involvement by official circles that could be behind this phenomenon. Observers say these circles could be trying to emulate the Saudi and Gulf experiment in bolstering Salafi groups to use them as a tool with which to hit the Muslim Brothers (al-Ikhwan) group. Several considerations could be involved in this, including the fact that this trend is capable of sloganeering against the al-Ikhwan since the supporters of Salafism go to the farthest extent in projecting the superficial manifestations of religiousness. They pay no attention to the fatwas issued by al-Azhar ulama but scoff at them and ridicule them. They refer instead to the opinions of the leading Salafi religious authorities like ibn Uthaymin, al-Albani and others when they confront any theological or religious issue.
Analysts say this step by governmental authorities to confront the snowballing Salafi activities in Egypt is a beginning after warnings that these activities have formed what can be described as “wide areas of influence” among youths and classes that suffer dismal living conditions and look for means of expressing themselves away from the official religious discourse adopted by the Ministry of Religious Endowments and al-Azhar establishment.
Salafism and al-Ikhwan
Within this context, a battle has erupted between activists and writers affiliated to al-Ikhwan and counterparts who are classified as Salafists. The two sides swapped accusations of being hirelings for security bodies. Ali Abdul-Fattah, a leading al-Ikhwan figure, said security bodies forbade i’tikaf (religious seclusion for meditation) in the past month of Ramadan in most mosques belonging to al-Ikhwan in most Egyptian Governorates, especially mosques in which al-Ikhwan practice their advocacy activities, but allowed the Salafis to organize seclusions in most mosques because of the unannounced agreement between the Salafis and security which allows them to practice their activities in return for not interfering in State policies.
Salafists responded to Ali Abdul-Fattah’s accusations that they are hirelings for security bodies by launching a counter campaign accusing al-Ikhwan of corrupting advocacy and imposing politics in religion. They said that the Salafi approach has always been to keep away from political issues and to focus on societal religious upbringing, and that they are careful not to deliberately collide with any public authority in society in order to avert sedition and “prevent the spread of a spirit of infighting in the countries of Islam and the Muslims,” as one of their most famous speakers says.
Another battle is raging over accusations by al-Ikhwan activists that the Salafi shaykhs support despotic regimes and play the role of “justifier” for the most oppressive regimes in the region. An example was the visit to Libya by Mahmoud Hasan, one of the most prominent Salafi advocates in Egypt, as part of a group of preachers who delivered lectures and had religious seminars organized for them in a number of Libyan mosques during the past month of Ramadan. This was part of a religious program accompanying a contest for memorizing the Koran organized by Aeshah al-Qadhafi, the daughter of the Libyan Colonel.
In contrast to what happens in al-Ikhwan group and other fundamentalist Jehadist organizations, like al-Jama’ah al-Islamiyah, al-Jehad, and al-Tabligh, there are no pyramidal structures in the heritage or literature of the Salafis. They replace this with the concept of “collective action”. The most well-known Salafi shaykhs in Egypt include al-Huwayni, Muhammad Isma’il, Muhammad Hasan, and Muhammad Husayn Ya’qoub.
Endowments Ministry and Salafism
The Egyptian Ministry of Religious Endowments has distributed a new book to those employed in its mosques. In it, Minister of Religious Endowments Mahmoud Hamdi Zaqzuq said that the Ministry seeks from that book to correct concepts it considers erroneous among the Salafis. The Ministry says that the book, “al-Salaf and al-Salafiyah” (The Predecessors and Salafism,” bywriter Muhammad Imarah, a member of the Higher Council for Islamic Affairs, aims to clarify many misunderstood conceptual terms. But observers believe that Dr Imarah is not the suitable person to take on this assignment, especially after the statements and writings recently attributed to him that are seen as insulting to Christian beliefs.
The Egyptian Minister of Religious Endowments spoke in the introduction of the book, distributed by his ministry’s provincial departments on the mosques affiliated to the ministry, about the role of his ministry in remedying any ideological aberration and clarifying them to the Muslims to help them use their minds to their advantage and protect them against religious fanaticism.
The Egyptian minister went on to say that the ideological aberration from which the contemporary Muslim society suffers, specifically in confusing concepts and misunderstanding many religious terms, has resulted in confused thinking and disturbed vision that mar the sound way of looking at things. He added that the fogginess that has enveloped in the minds of many in our Islamic world has led to an aberration afflicting the Islamic Nation with inertia and holding back its advance toward progress and regeneration. People became preoccupied with disputes and blind fanaticism to various groups, as he put it. The book concludes that Salafism is not a synonym to inertia or imitation, nor a justification for going against logic or reverting to Bedouinism and being hostile to others. On the contrary, he said, Salafism should be a means of taking advantage of the Islamic heritage and adapting it to the realities in the Islamic Nation.
Ilaf.com
Report by Nabil Sharaf al-Din: “After Years of Supporting Salafism To Counter the Muslim Brothers and the Jehadists, Egyptian Authorities Launch a Campaign To Counter a Salafi Tide Among Youths”
The Salafi trend has been spreading in the Egyptian society over the past few years in a conspicuous manner. This has made political and security circles apprehensive about the implicit danger in this and led recently to the launching of a plan to confront this large expansion of Salafi thinking, especially among youths. Within this framework, the Egyptian Ministry of Religious Endowments has distributed a new book to preachers working in its mosques stressing the need to correct what it sees as inaccurate concepts propounded by the Salafis.
Security estimates say that the activities of Salafi groups have been spreading in Egypt in a notable way that led some to suspect deliberate involvement by official circles that could be behind this phenomenon. Observers say these circles could be trying to emulate the Saudi and Gulf experiment in bolstering Salafi groups to use them as a tool with which to hit the Muslim Brothers (al-Ikhwan) group. Several considerations could be involved in this, including the fact that this trend is capable of sloganeering against the al-Ikhwan since the supporters of Salafism go to the farthest extent in projecting the superficial manifestations of religiousness. They pay no attention to the fatwas issued by al-Azhar ulama but scoff at them and ridicule them. They refer instead to the opinions of the leading Salafi religious authorities like ibn Uthaymin, al-Albani and others when they confront any theological or religious issue.
Analysts say this step by governmental authorities to confront the snowballing Salafi activities in Egypt is a beginning after warnings that these activities have formed what can be described as “wide areas of influence” among youths and classes that suffer dismal living conditions and look for means of expressing themselves away from the official religious discourse adopted by the Ministry of Religious Endowments and al-Azhar establishment.
Salafism and al-Ikhwan
Within this context, a battle has erupted between activists and writers affiliated to al-Ikhwan and counterparts who are classified as Salafists. The two sides swapped accusations of being hirelings for security bodies. Ali Abdul-Fattah, a leading al-Ikhwan figure, said security bodies forbade i’tikaf (religious seclusion for meditation) in the past month of Ramadan in most mosques belonging to al-Ikhwan in most Egyptian Governorates, especially mosques in which al-Ikhwan practice their advocacy activities, but allowed the Salafis to organize seclusions in most mosques because of the unannounced agreement between the Salafis and security which allows them to practice their activities in return for not interfering in State policies.
Salafists responded to Ali Abdul-Fattah’s accusations that they are hirelings for security bodies by launching a counter campaign accusing al-Ikhwan of corrupting advocacy and imposing politics in religion. They said that the Salafi approach has always been to keep away from political issues and to focus on societal religious upbringing, and that they are careful not to deliberately collide with any public authority in society in order to avert sedition and “prevent the spread of a spirit of infighting in the countries of Islam and the Muslims,” as one of their most famous speakers says.
Another battle is raging over accusations by al-Ikhwan activists that the Salafi shaykhs support despotic regimes and play the role of “justifier” for the most oppressive regimes in the region. An example was the visit to Libya by Mahmoud Hasan, one of the most prominent Salafi advocates in Egypt, as part of a group of preachers who delivered lectures and had religious seminars organized for them in a number of Libyan mosques during the past month of Ramadan. This was part of a religious program accompanying a contest for memorizing the Koran organized by Aeshah al-Qadhafi, the daughter of the Libyan Colonel.
In contrast to what happens in al-Ikhwan group and other fundamentalist Jehadist organizations, like al-Jama’ah al-Islamiyah, al-Jehad, and al-Tabligh, there are no pyramidal structures in the heritage or literature of the Salafis. They replace this with the concept of “collective action”. The most well-known Salafi shaykhs in Egypt include al-Huwayni, Muhammad Isma’il, Muhammad Hasan, and Muhammad Husayn Ya’qoub.
Endowments Ministry and Salafism
The Egyptian Ministry of Religious Endowments has distributed a new book to those employed in its mosques. In it, Minister of Religious Endowments Mahmoud Hamdi Zaqzuq said that the Ministry seeks from that book to correct concepts it considers erroneous among the Salafis. The Ministry says that the book, “al-Salaf and al-Salafiyah” (The Predecessors and Salafism,” bywriter Muhammad Imarah, a member of the Higher Council for Islamic Affairs, aims to clarify many misunderstood conceptual terms. But observers believe that Dr Imarah is not the suitable person to take on this assignment, especially after the statements and writings recently attributed to him that are seen as insulting to Christian beliefs.
The Egyptian Minister of Religious Endowments spoke in the introduction of the book, distributed by his ministry’s provincial departments on the mosques affiliated to the ministry, about the role of his ministry in remedying any ideological aberration and clarifying them to the Muslims to help them use their minds to their advantage and protect them against religious fanaticism.
The Egyptian minister went on to say that the ideological aberration from which the contemporary Muslim society suffers, specifically in confusing concepts and misunderstanding many religious terms, has resulted in confused thinking and disturbed vision that mar the sound way of looking at things. He added that the fogginess that has enveloped in the minds of many in our Islamic world has led to an aberration afflicting the Islamic Nation with inertia and holding back its advance toward progress and regeneration. People became preoccupied with disputes and blind fanaticism to various groups, as he put it. The book concludes that Salafism is not a synonym to inertia or imitation, nor a justification for going against logic or reverting to Bedouinism and being hostile to others. On the contrary, he said, Salafism should be a means of taking advantage of the Islamic heritage and adapting it to the realities in the Islamic Nation.
Ilaf.com