Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

Thinker Dr. Hasan Hanafī announced his intention to write an encyclopedic book entitled, ’The Revival of the Religious Sciences’ which will be similar to Imām al-Ghazālī’s book but will try to link religion with life.

Mustafá ‘Ibādah interviews Dr. ‘Alī Mabrūk to discuss the final decision concerning his promotion at Cairo University.

While some consider the proposed anti-terrorism law a violation of an individual’s freedom and privacy, others consider this proposed constitutional text to be a means of avoiding terrorist attacks in Egypt. Arguments about citizenship and article two are still the main subjects of all debates regarding the constitutional amendments.

A website of a London-based Islamic organization has accused the prominent thinker Dr. Ḥasan Ḥanafī of Kufr [apostasy].

The author of the article, Dr. Wā’il ‘Azīz, discusses religious freedom versus freedom of expression. He calls on Muslims to acknowledge the achievements of all Muslim scholars and intellectuals, and asserts that no one has the right to issue fatwás of Takfīr against anyone unless they publicly announced their apostasy from Islam.

Dr. Ḥasan Hanafī discusses the strategies followed to deal with Islamic groups and organizations.

Subtitle:

1- The leader of the organization says, "When Dr. Yehia Ismael said that Hanafy was an apostate, we decided to kill him"

2- The one who was supposed to carry out the operation says, "The plan was to kill him with penknives. I have trained on how to do this in Nozha"

3- An official state security report reads, "The Azhar Scholars Front is a front passing out condemnation for apostasy."

The article investigates the fatwa of Dr. Yehia Ismael, head of the Azhar Scholars Front, declaring Dr. Hassan Hanafy to be an apostate, and thereby effectively providing the extremists who were caught planning to assassinate Hanafy with a justification for their actions.

The author criticises the fatwa declaring Dr. Hassan Hanafy to be an apostate

and explains how Dr. Hanafy’s

work was taken out of context, and twisted to imply that he opposed

Islam.

Subtitle:

Who has the right to tolerate in the religion of our God?

Who is the greatest, the Imam or

our God?

An interview with Dr. Yehya Ismael, the secretary general of the

Front of Azhar Scholars,

about the battle which the front has started against the Sheikh of the Azhar, Dr. Mohammed

Sayyid Tantawi.

The attack on Dr.

Hassan Hanafy seems to have subsided. The Azhar Scholars Front continues

to denounce Dr. Hanafy, but they

will not bring him to court, perhaps because of the strong opposition they have

met from Dr. Abdel Mo’ti

Bayoumi and Dr. Mohammed Sa’id Tantawi, Sheikh of the Azhar.

Nevertheless, the issue will resurface.

Dr. El-Bery, president of the front has assured the public that the first

aim of the front is to concentrate

on publishing the ’mistakes’ of the man in public, because many

heresies and bad habits "are raised from

time to time by the agents of Christianity, atheism and extremism."