Dr. Sheikh Ahmed Subhy Mansour
Former Assistant professor at Al Azhar University
Muslim thinker and Human Rights activist
Political asylee in the U.S.
[703] 370 – 8137
A call to:
Reform Al Azhar
To reform Egypt, you have to reform Al Azhar.
To reform the Middle East and the Muslim World, you must reform Egypt and Al Azhar.
The real Islam is what was revealed to the prophet Mohammed in the Quran in its unique Arabic language and writing. The Quranic Arabic language has its special terminology. If you read the Quran according to its terminology you will understand Islam as the religion of peace, tolerance, justice and the unlimited freedom of speech and belief. This real Islam was applied in the time of the prophet Mohammed, but was abandoned when the Arab Muslims established their mighty empires in the middle ages by fighting and occupying and enslaving other nations, disobeying the Quranic rule “: And fight in the cause of God those who are fighting you , but transgress not the limit . Truly, God loves not the transgressors.”(2/190)
After two centuries and more, Muslims invented their human religious source to justify their anti Islamic deeds and to fit the bloody middle aged culture which controlled the entire world in that time. They distorted the Quranic terminology and laws under the title of interpretation and abrogation. Then they invented new sacred sayings and attributed them to the prophet Mohammed under the name of (Sunna) which reflects all the bloody fanatic culture of the middle ages, giving the Prophet Mohammed a new image to fit their time.
Europe had to struggle some centuries to free itself from that Middle aged culture, and to establish the secular democratic states. In the 19th century, the ruler Mohammed Ali Pasha tried to build a new modern state in Egypt. Egypt enjoyed some kinds of political and religious reform which reached its top in the beginning of the 20th century by the religious reform of Sheikh Mohammed Abdo (1849- 1905).
In the time of Muslim Arab awakening, the Saudi state emerged in 1745 with its Wahabi terrorist faith which restores the most fanatic Middle aged culture to our modern time.
Mohammed Ali Pasha of Egypt destroyed the first Saudi state in 1818. The second Saudi state was re established and collapsed in some decades during the nineteenth century. The recent Saudi State has been built during (1902 – 1932) by its founder Abduls Aziz, the father of the recent King Abdullah. The Egyptian Muslims were Sufi and against Wahabism. To keep his new third state alive for a long time, Abdel Aziz worked hard to convert the Muslim Egyptians to be Wahabists to have Egypt in his side. So, the Egyptian religious reform was terminated by the third Saudi Wahabi state which established its Wahabi fanatic culture in Egypt through many organizations, still working until today. Muslim Brothers is one of them. Hasan al Banna the founder of Muslim Brother was supervised by the Saudi agent Sheikh Rasheed Reda.
However, Muslims are three main cults; Sunni, Shiites and Sufi. The Sufi is more peaceful than the Shiites, while Sunni is the most fanatic Muslim cult. Inside the fanatic Sunni cult there is the Hanbali School which is the most fanatic Sunni sect. The hardest line inside this Hanbali fanatic Sunni School is the current Salafi Wahabi Saudi movement which produced Ben Laden and all this campaign of the fanatic fatwas.
The Saudi State is responsible for the rising of this fanatic Sunni Wahabi trend all over the Muslim World and inside the Islamic Schools and centers and Mosques in the U.S and the West.
By the Saudi fund and influence, this terrorist Wahabi trend is hijacking the name of Islam and the American freedom of speech and belief, threatening America and all the free world by the bloody fatwas and terrorist actions..
The Saudi State insists to keep this Wahabi fanatic sect in its Middle aged culture without any reform from inside Islam. More over, the Saudi influence persecuted the free Muslim thinkers who struggle for reforming the religious Muslim life.
For 25 years, I have struggled against the Saudi fanatic influence in Egypt. I was fired from Al Azhar University, put in prison, and persecuted because I discussed publicly their sacred secret side of tradition.
From 1985 until now, their fanatic bloody fatwa are after me calling to my death. There is a big fight between us on line in Arabic and English. For more English information, Look at:
http://www.islamicpluralism.org/texts/openforum.htm
Coming to the U.S as a political asylee, I find the same Saudi influence in Sunni Islamic Mosques, Centers, and schools, as most of them are controlled by the fanatics who are advocating The Wahaby fanatic culture of terrorism.
For example: inthe official Saudi translation of the holy Quran of [Al Fateha]- or the opening of the Quran which is recited 17 times through the daily Muslim prayers- they on purpose mistranslate the Last two verses in [Al Fateha]. It says:" Guide us to the straight path. The path of those on whom you have bestowed your blessing, not of those who earned your anger, nor of those who went astray." The official Saudi translation comments on this verses giving the Wahabi faith describing the Jews as those who earned the anger of God, and the Christians as those who went astray. It is only one example in this translation which has hundreds of examples. Thousands copies of this translations are usually distributed in the Islamic centers and schools and mosques in the U.S. to confirm that all the Christians and Jews are infidels, and according to the Wahabi faith, they should be killed and fought.
This is one aspect of the Jihad of the so called Moderate Muslims who pretend to be against the fanatics Muslims.
Actually the Fanatics Muslims are two kinds; the frank people who speak out their discourse and apply it if they can. Bin Laden is the real example of this kind. The other people are the hypocrite scholars and leaders who claim Islam as the religion of peace in front of the non Muslims but they advocate and support the frank fanatics and terrorists secretly considering them (Mujahedeen).
Those hypocrite leaders and scholars are more dangerous than the Bin Laden because they keep the religious culture of terrorism untouchable, ready to produce thousands of Bin Laden.
The only way to expose them is to face them from inside their culture, proving their enmity towards Islam, and the big contradiction between their tradition and Islam, and to discuss and criticize their tradition in the light of Islam and the Quran.
The coming article: “The Fundamental rules of the fanatic fatwa”.
The Egyptian regimehas to complete the reform of the 1030 years old Al Azhar. Instead of being a religious Vatican, Al Azhar must become a real Muslim civil establishment, as there are no religious authorities or any religious foundation in Islam. It needs to reform the Egyptian legislation to eliminate all the rules which give Al Azhar the authority to control the cultural and religious life of Muslims, and to open its university and education for all Egyptians equally. Mainly, this would include providing the same opportunity for Egyptian Christians as all other non-Muslims to attend its free education. While Al Azhar gives free education for Muslims only, its funds come from all Egyptian tax payers, including Christians.
The main reform would be to terminate Al Azhar curriculums and courses that belong to the advocating of superstitions and terrorism of the middle ages, and substitute them with real Islamic curriculums that come directly from the Holy Quran. These new curricula would be written by free Muslim thinkers. In light of the Quran and its terminology and codes, these new curricula will discuss the contradiction between Muslim traditions and the religion of Islam. In this way, al Azhar will present itself as an updated Islamic seminary, serving Islam and the real interest of Muslims in this century and the next.
The Reform of Al Azhar should be accompanied by the reform of the Egyptian regime, politically and economically. By reforming Al Azhar and the Wahabi Saudi cult, the Islamic schools in the U.S. and in the West can also be reformed.