The Glorious (Al-Azhar) Document

News from the Egyptian Street and Media Translated Without Comment from Arabic into English As a Public Service
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Al-Azhar, (in Arabic: The Glorious) the oldest and most venerable Islamic institution in the world of Islam, has just issued a historic document.  Established more than one thousand years ago by the Fatimide Dynasty (Shii) in Cairo, it is the center of Islamic learning, both Sunni and Shii, that exerts moderation on the Muslim faith.  It has branches all over Egypt and the entire Arab world from Sudan to Gaza to other far-flung areas.  It is not only a great focus for Islam as a moderating force; it has also played a key role in guiding Egypt's quest for both modernity in times of peace, and nationalistic fervor in times of war.

You can tell an Azhari graduate male by his white turban (my late father wore one which he bequeathed to me).  Female students usually wear a simple scarf over their hair.  Traditionally, Al-Azhar enjoyed full independence from the Egyptian Government until internal dictatorship, beginning with Nasser in July 1952 and ending with Mubarak's ouster in February 2011, destroyed that Al-Azhar status.  The institution's Imam Al-Akbar (the highest Imam) became an appointed functionary, instead of an elected authority and pre-eminent scholar chosen democratically by his peers.  Thus began the decline of Al-Azhar in both prestige, and the advent of militant Islam in a hopeless attempt to fill that huge void.  The void was then filled with ridiculous fatwas (religious opinions) and militant movements which fed on both ignorance and unemployment.

Then came the Egyptian Revolution of January 25, 2011 and the departure of Mubarak's reign of terror. With that, Al-Azhar revived.  And on June 20, 2011, Al-Azhar's Rector, Imam Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayyeb (who speaks fluent French), promulgated a historic document (Al-Azhar Document) signaling the return of that institution to its independence from the Executive, and to its pre-eminence in Islamic thought, Islamic jurisprudence, and Islamic centrism.  Another fatal blow to Al-Qaeda and all its franchise units everywhere.  Real Islam is suddenly ascendant; extremism is now in flight with its places of refuge shrinking.

Approved by a very broad consensus by the leaders of the entire spectrum of political, academic, religious, social and economic groupings, including the Muslim Brotherhood, the Document calls for a secular Egypt.  It declares Al-Azhar's abhorrence of a New Egypt based on religion.  Though it recognized Islamic Law (Sharia), as moderately interpreted, a primary source of legislation, yet it fully guarantees to Coptic Egyptians their full right to resort to the Church's rulings in personal status matters (marriage, divorce, inheritance, worship, entails, and such).

Elucidated by a prominent member of the Consortium of Islamic Research (an arm of Al-Azhar), by the name of Dr. Abdel-Mottee Bayoumi, a co-drafter of that Document, said, "We now have the bases for a modern State based on the Constitution, and free from the concept of a state based on faith."  He went on to say, "The New Egypt shall be democratic, whose new Constitution (to be drafted in 2012) will guarantee separation of powers and the Rule of Law, especially equality of all before the law." 

The Grand Imam, Dr. Al-Yayyeb, pointed out at a press conference held at Al-Azhar, that the Document guarantees free elections, diversity, the peaceful transfer of power periodically from one elected President to another, transparency and accountability, the fight against corruption, and the freedom of information.

The full rights of women and children are also declared in that document, and the recognition of all religious beliefs (including Christianity and Judaism), and the right to full citizenship are integral components of Al-Azhar Document.

The Al-Azhar Rector also highlighted the Document's condemnation of groups arrogating for themselves the authority to signal someone as an apostate or a traitor to Islam.  It regarded such usurpation of the power to exclusiveness as anti-Islamic and as leading to sectarian conflict, religious apartheid, and a derogation of the power and capacity of the community represented by Parliament to pursue the development goals of Egypt in its newly-found renaissance.

The Document also equated between Muslims, Christians and Jews in their right to freely pursue their efforts in building up the New Egypt.  It also emphasized Egypt's commitment to the observance of all its international treaties and obligations.

The Al-Azhar Document called for the re-establishment by the New Egypt of its harmonious relationships with all its sister States in the Arab, African and Islamic geographic spheres.  It stressed the need for respecting the right of the Palestinians to an independent and sovereign State.

The Document highlighted that Egypt's renaissance is a vital factor in regional stability, that the Arab Revolution is anchored in the quest for dignity, development and equality, and that the new Constitution shall be the framework for the march of post-Mubarak Egypt toward a future of equal opportunity for all.

Welcome Back, Al-Azhar (The Glorious) to your historic roles in the national and international arenas of moderation in Islam, belief in inter-faith, nullification of crazy fatwas, and delegitimation of Al-Qaeda and terrorism!!!