Al-Azhar to open religious center for heritage, renovation: Grand imam

CAIRO – 27 January 2020: Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayyeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, Egypt’s top religious authority, on Monday announced establishing a new religious center, as part of the national efforts to renovate religious discourse, in a way that suits life developments.

During a high-level conference dubbed “Al-Azhar International Conference on Renovation of Islamic Thought,” which was attended by representatives of religious institutions from dozens of Arab and Islamic countries, El-Tayyeb said Egyptian and non-Egyptian Muslim scholars will be part of the Al-Azhar’s planned center.

Tayyeb urged the renewal of religious discourse, calling it a “pure Quranic law,” which prominent scholars saw as necessary to cope with political and social developments.

El-Tayyeb’s remarks echo President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s calls for the renovation of Islamic thought since he took post in 2014 as president, amid a resurgence in terrorist attacks in the name of Islam.

During the conference, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli gave remarks, on behalf of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, saying that the Egyptian leader calls on religious institutions to attach great importance to the renewal of religious discourse.

President Sisi urges accelerating efforts to renovate religious discourse, warning that procrastination would give the opportunity to those who claim knowledge to brainwash youth into adopting wrong beliefs and misconception of religion, Madbouli said.