Topic: Al-Azhar

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Young Sufis celebrate the birthday of Imam al Hussein in Saida Zeinab, Cairo (image: Hassanein Hamady)

Sufism in Egypt

Cairo's mystic revival

Egyptian Sufis have been on the defensive against the country's Islamists for decades. Meanwhile, interest in mysticism is growing among the young members of Cairo’s middle and upper classes. By Marian BrehmerMore

Sufism in Egypt: Sufis, sheikhs and charlatansMarking the anniversary of Rumi's death in Konya: From traditional to lifestyle SufismGod's love for all: Sufism is not just Muslim
Symbolic image: A woman on her way to an abortion (image: imago images/Addictive Stock)

Women's rights in Egypt

We need to talk about abortion

Abortions are illegal in Egypt unless they are necessary to save a married woman's life. But that doesn't stop local women from having one. Egyptian society needs to acknowledge this, activists say. By Diana HodaliMore

Women′s rights in the Arab world: The key to changeAzza Soliman, an Egyptian feminist at risk: "What has Azza done?"Morocco's abortion ban: Acknowledging reality
Demonstrators in Iran give the victory sign (photo: abaca/picture-alliance)

Protests in Iran

Rethinking Sharia and democracy

According to a recent survey, half of all Iranians say that they have left Islam as a religion, while two-thirds believe Islamic law should be excluded from their legal system. In the following essay, Ahmet T. Kuru explores the implicationsMore

Islam’s conscientious thinkers: People of reason vs. people of the hadithAuthoritarianism in the Islamic world: Islamic clerics and statesmen in an unholy allianceCritical Koran edition: The Koran – and its variants?Qantara photo essay: Around the world of Islam
Reading the Koran (photo: Ulrike Hummel)

Islam’s conscientious thinkers

People of reason vs. people of the hadith

Past attempts to reconcile logic and belief within Islam tend to be dismissed today – not because they lack merit, but because they were politically defeated, argues Mustafa AkyolMore

Reforming Islam: Islam′s path to modernityCritical Koran edition "Al-Mushaf wa Qiraʹatuh": Explosive potentialAlgerian scholar Said Djabelkhir: For a critical appraisal of Islamic lawIslamic reformer Mustafa Akyol: "Islam needs its own enlightenment"
Adam, the main character, is played by Palestinian actor Tawfeek Barhom (source: Cannes Film Festival)

Cairo Conspiracy a.k.a. Boy From Heaven

Al-Azhar, a Catholic monastery...and the Dalai Lama

Palme d’Or winner "Boy from Heaven" is a classic crossover film in which cultural elements are mixed together in haphazard and random fashion. Shady Lewis Botros bemoans the director’s use of various formulaic and cliche-ridden templates dominant in global mass cultureMore

Cancelling "The Lady of Heaven": Why the fuss over the Prophet's daughter?The filming of Rumi: Everybody's darlingHollywoodʹs flirtation with 1001 Nights: The Aladdin controversy
Queen Elizabeth II visiting a mosque in Bursa, Turkey, 2008 (photo: Anatolia News Agency/AFP)

Elizabeth II and the Muslims

"To be there for our fellow human-beings"

When she ascended the throne, millions of Muslims still lived under British rule. Later, Elizabeth II appealed for tolerance in a multi-religious society. She was the first British queen to visit a mosqueMore

Mona Siddiqui on Brexit, Muslims and the migrant issue: How do you welcome someone?Rizwaan Sabir's "The Suspect": Muslims post-9/11 subject to blanket targetingTrojan Horse affair: Muslim Council of Britain calls for independent inquiry
The family of murdered student Naira Ashraf at the trial of alleged killer Mohamed Adel (photo: Khaled Desouki/AFP)

Femicide in Egypt

"If you say no, you'll be in trouble"

The murder of a female student at Mansoura University in the Nile Delta has sparked a long overdue debate on femicide in Egypt. Karim El-Gawhary reports from CairoMore

Emancipation in the MENA region: The patriarchy is crumblingWomen in Egypt: Ongoing crackdown stokes solidarityWomen in Egypt: The long and bumpy road to gender equality
The ruling BJP's spokesperson Nupur Sharma was suspended for incendiary comments against Islam (photo: Hindustan Times/Imago)

Narendra Modi's ruling BJP

Middle East furore at Indian official's Prophet remarks

Anger in the Middle East is spreading over comments made by an official of India's ruling BJP about the Prophet Muhammad, with various countries summoning New Delhi's envoy and a Kuwaiti supermarket removing Indian productsMore

Hate propaganda in India: Modi opponents labelled 'anti-national'Modiʹs identity politics: Islamophobia threatens to engulf IndiaIndia's Muslims under Narendra Modi: Gandhi bows out
French President Emmanuel Macron (l) greets Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi (r) upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 7 December 2020 (photo: Yoan Valat/EPA-EFE)

Egypt, France, a growing alliance

The Cairo-Paris axis

A growing alliance between Cairo and Paris is resulting in significant foreign policy coordination, with political and economic repercussions on the horizon for both Egypt and France. By Maged MandourMore

Egypt – Dollars to despots: Abdul Fattah al-Sisi's international patronsFrance, terrorism and identity politics: Emmanuel Macron's determination to pick the wrong battleLibyan civil war: Turkey versus France – a game of one-upmanship in Libya?Egyptian foreign policy and the Libyan crisis: Time to restore Egypt's pivotal role in Libya
Translations of the Koran in different languages (source: gloqur.de)

The Global Qur'an

Searching the suras

Research project "The Global Qur'an", brainchild of Professor of Islamic Studies Johanna Pink and sponsored by the European Research Council, analyses the history and dissemination of Koran translations while examining the role of nation-states and missionary movements. By Arnfried SchenkMore

"The Global Qur'an" official websiteInterview with Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd: For a plurality of Koranic interpretationsKoranic research: The reader maketh the bookInterview with Angelika Neuwirth: "The Koran – a book in many languages"Koran translations: Precise or poetic?
Project House of One – foundation trustees (photo: Klemens Renner)

Jews, Christians and Muslims

"We are in dire need of a culture of dialogue"

Berlin's "House of One" project, instigated by Jews, Christians and Muslims, will finally begin to take physical shape in early 2021, following a lengthy period of preparation. With the terrorist attack in Vienna fresh in their minds, the representatives of the three world religions feel uniquely challenged. By Christoph StrackMore

Berlinʹs House of One: Offering a triune solutionThe Berlin Project "House of One": Three religions under one roofQantara dossier: Dialogue of religions
Politically deeply divided: Turkish President Erdogan (left) and French President Macron during a state visit. Archive image from 2018 (photo: picture-alliance/AP/L. Marin)

Muhammad cartoon controversy

Macron and the Muhammad tempest in a Twitter teapot

French President Macron's statements that caricatures of Muhammad may still be published have triggered outrage in a number of Muslim states. Turkish President Erdogan is among the most vocal critics. Karim El-Gawhary reportsMore

Turkey condemns French caricature featuring ErdoganLaicism and the death of Samuel Paty: Emmanuel Macron leads France in fight against IslamismFrance's "anti-separatism" drive: Emmanuel Macron's plan to protect French values alienates Muslims
Grand imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb during the open debate with President of Cairo University Mohamed Osman Khosht (photo: Al-Azhar Alumni UK; https://www.facebook.com/pg/WAAGUK/photos/?ref=page_internal)

President Sisi, the Grand Imam and Al-Azhar

Egypt’s eternal conundrum – reforming religious thought

How long can Al-Azhar University mount guard over orthodox Islamic learning, fending off Sisi’s attempt to assert control while also curtailing the influence of oil-rich Gulf states? By Muhammed Nafih WafyMore

President Sisi and Al-Azhar: Wresting religious authority from the Grand ImamIslam, Al-Azhar and the terrorists′ ideology: If the cap fitsInterview with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar University: "What the Islamist armed movements are doing is wrong"
Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar University (photo: picture-alliance/AP Photo/N. El-Mofty)

Marriage, divorce and inheritance

Who should reform Egypt's personal status law, and how?

"Personal status" is a modern category of Middle Eastern law grounded in Islamic religious teaching. Legislative authorities dip into centuries of religious scholarship to decide which interpretations of Sharia will be enforced by the state. Understandably, how it is done is as important as who does it. By Nathan J. BrownMore

President Sisi and Al-Azhar: Wresting religious authority from the Grand ImamIslam, Al-Azhar and the terrorists′ ideology: If the cap fitsInterview with Egyptian activist Nawal El Saadawi: "We are a hundred years behind"
Abrahamic Teams event at Rabat University, Morocco (photo: Abrahamic Forum e.V.)

Abrahamic Teams in the MENA

Interfaith dialogue – a painstaking process

The declared goal of the Abrahamic Teams is to improve how Jews, Christians and Muslims interact with and live alongside each other. The project, which originates in Germany, is now being implemented in Israel, Egypt and Morocco too. But, as Claudia Mende found out, interfaith dialogue does not progress quicklyMore

Abrahamic Teams and interfaith dialogue: Conquering prejudice face-to-faceOfficial Abrahamic Forum website (in German)Qantara dossier: "Dialogue of religions"
Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi performing the morning Eid ul-Adha prayers alongside the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayeb, Defence Minister Sedky Sobhy and Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab at the al-Sayeda Safeya Mosque, Cairo, Egypt, on 4 October 2014 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/Office Of The Presidency)

President Sisi and Al-Azhar

Wresting religious authority from the Grand Imam

An arcane dispute between Egyptʹs president and Al-Azhar over how much society is threatened by debating the authenticity of hadiths and their role in Islamic law is really about moral leadership in society. By Nathan J. Brown and Cassia BardosMore

Abdul Fattah al-Sisi′s ascendancy: Sweetness and light?Islam, Al-Azhar and the terrorists′ ideology: If the cap fitsInterview with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb: "What the Islamist armed movements are doing is wrong"

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