Egypt’s General Sisi Calls for Rise of ‘Modern’ Islam
By Raymond Ibrahim, ALGEMEINER
According to Egyptian media, during his recent speech at the Department of Moral Affairs for the Armed Forces, General Abdul Fateh al-Sisi – the man who ousted former President Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood in response to the June Revolution and who is seen as the nation’s de facto ruler – declared that “Religious discourse is the greatest battle and challenge facing the Egyptian people, and pointed to the need for a new vision and a modern, comprehensive understanding of the religion of Islam—rather than relying on a discourse that has not changed for 800 years.”
Sisi further “called on all who follow the true Islam to improve the image of this religion in front of the world, after Islam has been for decades convicted of violence and destruction around the world, due to the crimes falsely committed in the name of Islam.”
Egyptian intellectuals call for fresh thinking about ‘Jewish question’
It’s not every day that a well-known Egyptian intellectual makes pronouncements of the kind made by philosopher Youssef Zeidan. The Egyptian and Israeli media missed what he said at the end of a Dec. 30 interview with journalist Lamis El-Hadidy on Egypt’s CBC TV channel, even though it went to the heart of the ties between Cairo and Jerusalem and between Arabs and the Jewish world.
Zeidan is a researcher of ancient manuscripts. He is also a greatly admired writer, the author of several excellent novels, most prominently “Azazeel,” which has been translated into 16 languages and was recently even published in Hebrew. Toward the end of the interview, Hadidy asked him how he sees the year 2014. Her guest’s answer was surprising: He suggested that Egyptians reassess their ties with the Jews.
“We should reconsider our notions regarding the Jewish question. We are not even aware how much this affects us. [It] has become a common trade, benefiting all our politicians. Any politician who wants to gain popularity curses Israel, but when he comes to power, he has no problem with Israel.
“That’s stupidity. Stupidity that is connected to the ignorance of the people. We should reconsider this. Nobody looks out for our interests. We should be aware of this.”
This fresh thinking, in his view, should start at the very beginning, meaning from the dispute over the Isra’iliyyat. These are chapters included in the sayings by the Prophet Muhammad, known as hadiths, which originated with Jews who converted to Islam, offering interpretations of stories from the Quran in the spirit of the Torah. As a result, some are considered by Islam to be unreliable. For centuries, to this day, Muslim commentators have been seeking to uproot the Isra’iliyyat from hadith literature. There are even those who suspect that they were inserted into the hadiths to corrupt them. Zeidan’s words appear to question whether it isn’t time to minimize the importance of this debate, which overshadows the relationship between the two religions.
Zeidan didn’t stop there. He also called for rethinking “the so-called Middle East problem, which I do not consider to be a problem at all” — in other words, the dispute between Israel and its Arab neighbors. “The Nasserists have been oppressing the people for 60 years under the pretext of the Middle East problem,” he said. As a result, “wars were fought and people were killed.”
He then suggested that his listeners change their perception of the Holocaust. He even provided an example from the Egyptian school system: the Balfour Declaration — the 1917 British promise which looked favorably on the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel.
“About Balfour,” Zeidan recalls, “We were indoctrinated at school: ‘What do you think about the Balfour Declaration?’ According to the system of ready-made answers, we were expected to respond: ‘He gave what he did not own to those who did not deserve it.’ That’s it.”
The Egyptian philosopher’s statements are a call for a reform in thinking. They express the views of a small group among Egyptian thinkers, which sees the disgust that has developed between the Arabs and Israel as a problem that takes a toll mostly on the Arabs. Zeidan thinks that hatred of the Jews is sweeping and comprehensive: it is rooted in history, religion and contemporary politics. He is not acting out of a love for Israel. Zeidan is a patriot who believes that resolving the fracture between Egyptians and Jews could serve his countrymen, first and foremost. His courageous pronouncements undermine the deeply rooted Egyptian perception, encouraged from on high, of Jews as a threatening, demonic entity, and of Israel as a danger.
Two and a half months before the interview, in October 2013, the Egyptian daily Al-Masri al-Youm published an article by pundit Gamel Abu Al-Hassan. Abu Al-Hassan, a regular contributor to this newspaper, attacked the armed resistance policy adopted by the Arabs toward Israel. He directed his arrows toward the holiest of holies — the military elites in the Arab states. Abu Al-Hassan stated that they built their power on the foundations of the conflict. In addition, he claimed that armed organizations were nurtured by regimes in the Middle East as “pressure cards,” in his words, in the service of their regional interests. This tactic, in his view, confused Arab public opinion “and provided political ammunition for bankrupt factions.” The collapse of the myth known as “resistance,” in his words, will help political growth in the countries of the region.
The Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef, the creator and host of the television satire “The Program,” which crucified deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and has since been banned, was recently interviewed by Jeremy Paxman on BBC. Paxman asked him whether there was room for satire in the days of former President Hosni Mubarak. “In those days, that door wasn’t even there,” he answered.
Well, not just satire. It’s doubtful that any pioneering criticism of the type mentioned here could have been heard in the days of Mubarak and his energetic minister of culture, Farouk Hosni. Zeidan would have probably thought long and hard before calling on the Egyptian people to reassess their negative attitude toward Israel, since he might have been suspected of cooperating with it and harming the national interest. And had he been confused for a moment and forgotten the boundaries of good taste, legions of co-opted journalists would have doubtless reminded him.
The daring statements by Zeidan and Abu Al-Hassan are still drowned out by the cacophony of slogans and stereotypes that prevail in the public discourse. It will take time until their vision is realized. But, if three years only after the outbreak of the January 25 Revolution, one can already say publicly that hatred of Israel is stupidity and armed resistance against it is self-defeating — something in this revolution is going well, despite the difficulties.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/01/youssef-zeidan-intellectual-egypt-israel-relations.html?utm_source=Al-Monitor+Newsletter+%5BEnglish%5D&utm_campaign=4c4656670e-January_9_20141_8_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_28264b27a0-4c4656670e-93067045#ixzz2qxMk98ko
Could El-Sissi be the 21st century Egyptian ATATURK and promotes a “new Islam” and help save his country.
He would find enormous help from many countries from all type of believe systems.
IL would be the first providing de-escalation of fanatical rhetoric, etc… including “reforming” Islam. Is a 3rd schism in the cards?
@ wpapke:
True
“…a discourse that has not changed for 800 years…” The reason it has not changed is because islam considers the words of mohammed inviolable. No one questions the words, only how the apply to all aspects of life. Until its followers come to grips with that it will always be a haven for radicalism.
yamit82 Said:
Perhaps she is just ugly????????
yamit82 Said:
Perhaps she is just ugly!!!!!!!
The real story!
The Military in Egypt own and control over 40% of the Egyptian economy. It’s where their high for Egypt salaries and pensions come from. It’s where upon retirement they are given executive positions in their varied enterprises. Maintaining a stable economy as under Mubarak for the military is essential.
Morsi purged many of the top military Mubarak loyalists in the Egyptian military whose loyalty he suspected and choose Gen Abdul Fattah al-Sisi who replace the purged war hero Field Marshal Tantawi despite never gaining any combat experience – like Tantawi. It should be obvious that Morsi chose al-Sisi at least in part becausehe met the religious standard a MB government could live with and still meet to requirement of leadership of the military, meaning he would have to have the support of the others in the Egyptian command structure.
Would it be naive to believe the military would relinquish the power they had gained thought the Nasser and Mubarak regimes? I have also read reports Morsi was preparing to use the Egyptian military in support of the Syrian Rebels against Assad and the Egyptian military was against. Al-Sisi was also in charge of information and security at the general secretariat of the Defence Ministry and served as Egypt’s military attache in Saudi Arabia.
Later, Gen Sisi served as chief-of-staff and then commander of the Northern Military Zone, headquartered in Alexandria, before being appointed director of Military Intelligence and Reconnaissance.
The Scaf (The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces) insisted that its members had no partisan or ideological affiliation to any political forces in Egypt.
Mutaz Abdul Fattah, a professor at Cairo University, also said Gen Sisi did not belong to the Muslim Brotherhood, writing on Twitter: “He is not a member of the Brotherhood; he is just a religious man and reports also emerged that his wife wore the niqab, a full-face veil worn by some Muslim women..”
The military deposed Morsi for mostly economic reasons and not because of any deep seeded opposition to the MB although ideologically there must have been due to their opposing world views. The military are nationalists and the MB seek a world anti nationalist caliphate.
While I believe al Sisi is a devout Muslim he is also a patriot and seems to have personal ambitions to become the next Nassar.
I also remember that Egyptian Nationalism was the primary reason for all our wars with Egypt and not Islam per se.
The same regime under Mubarak did nothing or next to nothing to prevent arms smuggling into Gaza from their territory and supported Hamas defacto. The Egyptian have always since the Camp David agreements sought to regain for them a strategic foothold for the Egyptian military in the Sinai. Under Morsi and now Al-Sisi they have succeeded. BB caved thereby negating the most important and relative part of the Camp david agreements the re-militarization by Egypt in the Sinai.
The militants in Sinai have been used as the excuse to reestablish full military presence in the Sinai and will never return to status quo ante except as a consequence of the next war between Israel and Egypt which will occur sooner or later.
Israel allowing Egypt army to operate in north Sinai
In bid to squeeze Hamas, clause banning Egyptian forces from the territory has effectively been done away with, official says
Israel again being stupid!!! Egypt has 1.8 million man military with the most modern American weaponry. If they wanted to crush Hamas , and other militants in Sinai they have the forces to do it quickly and return home. They don’t want that!! They are back in Sinai to stay and the longer the terrorist are active in Sinai so are the Egyptian military. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a double game going on where it’s Egypt that is behind and supporting terrorists in Sinai and fighting them in a virtual manner.
“In practice, the military appendix is nonexistent,” the official said…. (So is the heart and soul of the Camp David agreements Yamit82)
Phooey. Just as in all bad religion, the powerful believers want the passionate to be the most submissive to them. Among the most pious, power must extend from passion. If their believers can’t be passionate, then they will settle for submissive. Nonbelievers should be the most submissive of all. That’s how you get along in Islam and that’s how you get along with Islam.
This is the whole basis of change that we have been seeing in the Muslim world. The Muslim Brotherhood and their fellow travelers want to equalize Islam and remove the powerful and opulent leaders like in Saudi Arabia. The religious authorities want to take religious authority out of the hands of anything that does not extend from directly from sharia. The sheikhs and the secular, military leaders of Egypt are just decadent Muslims, they have nothing to bring to the Muslim public.
What are we not calling these people? “Moderate Muslims” We all know that “moderate Islam” is a joke. Just because these people reject theocracy is nothing to hope for in Muslim countries. Of course the Saudis also talk to Israel. They threaten Israel, but they know that Israel is no threat to them, and the wave of change occurring in the Muslim countries is certainly a threat to them, just as it is a threat to the military oligarchs in Egypt.
To be fair to al-Sisi (who has actually done more to curb Hamas than the last three Israeli governments), as a high-ranking Egyptian general, I have no doubt that he has had extensive dealings with Israeli military and political figures, and is smart enough to know that the outrageous Islamonazi caricatures of Jews/Israelis seen in media are basically a bunch of BS.
Does he want a Palestinian state, with at least part of Jerusalem as its capital? No doubt he strongly does. But he also knows that indulging the MB/Hamas will bring as much grief to the Arabs as to the Jews, if not more.
@ ppksky:
With all due respect, you expect way too much and way too fast.
That there is even a crack in the formidable wall of extreme antisemitism coming out of the Egyptian leadership is nothing short of miraculous and should be celebrated.
Who is trying to fool who and to what end? It’s a risky move and I can’t see any ulterior motive that would warrant the risk.
@ ppksky:
With all due respect, you expect way too much and way too fast.
That there is in a crack in the formidable wall of extreme antisemitism coming out of the Egyptian leadership is nothing short of miraculous and should be celebrated.
Don’t think they are trying to “fool” anyone. What would be served? Even broaching this deeply entrenched social taboo is risky in the extreme so I can’t see any ulterior motive underlying the move.
I see very little to be excited about. Nobody is repenting the lies they have been telling about the Jews and Israel. Nobody is rejecting the scriptural prescriptions against the Jews and non-believers. They just want a PR campaign of smiley faces to counteract the PR campaign of video taped beheadings.
Nobody is fooled.