Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

The author denies that he is against religion, and asserts that he supports religion so long as it is based on sound, rational thought that fulfills human needs.

 

He says that the religious media, as it currently is, has resulted in an unprecedented state of chaos and intellectual anarchy, which is reflected in all aspects of life, given that religion in our societies affects every sphere of our existence.

 

Tantawī attributes this state of affairs to the absence of a scientific approach by the various currents of the religious media to religious thought and the understanding of religious texts. "We have become accustomed to accepting intellectual religious heritage without inspection, review, questioning, discussion or analysis, the barrier to doing so being the hue of sanctity and inviolability that has been bestowed on that heritage, and the claim that those who have preceded us had more understanding and awareness of the aims of religion, Sharī‘ah, and its provisions," Tantawī writes.

 

He says that this has come about because of the mistaken belief that those who preceded us were more capable of interpreting religion because they existed at periods closer to the era of the Prophet. Those who preceded us made errors and had their own sins and intellectual and behavioral misdeeds as books of lore demonstrate to us, he asserts.

 

Another reason for this lack of scientific approach is isolation within specific religious currents, the adherents of which are forbidden to even attempt a scientific approach or to question anything, because to do so would mean the collapse of such currents from their very roots.

 

The real reasons for such intellectual isolationism are religious sectarianism, tribalism, and racism, as well as personal, material, and political gain and the desire for fame, Tantawī writes, and this has resulted in a "religious circus … totally unrelated to true religion."