Egypt’s Plan for Introduction of ‘Modern’ Interpretation of Quran Criticized
Yusuf Sayyid Amer, head of the Senate’s religious committee, has submitted the proposal, saying the new interpretation will highlight Islam’s moderation and counters extremism.
It would provide an answer to certain Hadiths that extremist groups refer to in order to justify their ideologies, Amer added.
Qutb al-Arabi, the author and journalist, wrote in a piece carried by Arabi21 website that silence on such a proposal is not possible because it has been put forward by politicians and government officials, not by scholars and experts.
He said manipulation of the most sacred Muslim text, namely the Quran, with the aim of serving governments and rulers is not acceptable.
“Who could accept tying of the verses of the Quran to serving unjust policies or presenting distorted understandings to cover and justify abnormal phenomena in society in order to satisfy international pressure groups?” he wondered.
He described the proposal put forward by Amer and endorsed by the country’s Awqaf minister and grand Mufti as being in line with the lies on a “new state” that President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi and the media have been talking about.
Al-Arabi said I is based on these lies, Sisi built a new capital and seeks to market a new identity for it.
This pharaonic identity is being presented as an alternative to the current Arab-Islamic identity, he stated, adding that one cannot rule out that a new flag and national anthem will soon be announced for it as well.
The idea of modern interpretation is a deceptive one as it conceals things. “If modern interpretation is intended to understand the Quran in light of the realities of the age and its development, it is what the Mufaseers (commentators) and Faqihs (jurists) have not objected to before and several interpretations have already been written with this approach.”
He referred to interpretations by Egyptian commentators such as Sheikh Muhammad Abduh, Sheikh Rashid Reza, Sheikh Tantawi Gohari, Mustafa Mahmoud and recently Sheikh al-Shaarawy as some of those works.
However, a-Arabi stated, what is required by the so-called modern interpretation is to keep pace with modifying or developing the religious discourse that Sisi launched some time ago and is still facing problems due to the opposition from Al-Azhar and lack of the public opinion’s acceptance of it.
What makes it clear that the required interpretation is aimed at serving the government and ruling system is that the Mufti, attending the discussions about the proposal in the Senate, described it as one in line with Egypt’s “new republic”, the journalist went on to say.
He also suggested that one of the objectives behind this new interpretation could be facilitating propagation of normalization of ties with the Zionist regime of Israel.
