Cairo sheik touts peaceful Islam

CAIRO — Al Azhar’s grand sheik, one of Islam’s most influential figures, is unequivocal: His faith stands for peace and justice. But the definitions seem up for debate at this historic university and mosque in these troubled times for Muslims.

Since the September 11, 2001, attacks focused attention on Islamic extremism, Grand Sheik Mohammed Sayed Tantawi — who perhaps more than any other leader embodies moderate, official Islam — has often condemned terrorism and al Qaeda.

He repeated his denunciations in a rare interview, but he also called “occupying others’ lands” — meaning Israel in Palestinian territory — the “ugliest kind of terrorism.”

The mixed signals Sheik Tantawi sends can be confusing — reflecting the crosscurrents and political mood among mainstream Muslims.

At a time when Osama bin Laden is capturing imaginations with his calls on Muslims to strike the West, moderate Islamic thinkers say al Azhar should be helping Muslims move beyond rhetoric and find a peaceful way forward.

But al Azhar, confident in its hold on the silent majority, seems to see little need to directly debate the vocal minority of extremist ideologues, including Egyptians like top bin Laden aide Ayman al-Zawahri.

Egypt has not suffered an Islamic terrorist attack since the 1997 shootings that killed 58 foreign tourists at Luxor.

Among the 300,000 male and female university students of al Azhar, a sense of grievance is unmistakable.

“There is a war against Islam,” said Ahmed Hussein, 22, a third-year accounting student. He accuses the United States of targeting Muslims in Iraq, of bias toward Israel and against Arabs in the Palestinian territories, and of labeling anyone who fights back a terrorist.

Sheik Tantawi, appointed grand sheik by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 1996, rejects the idea that conflict between Islam and the West is inevitable, saying his institution works to spread universal ideas of “peace, justice and communication and cooperation between all the peoples of the world.”

Yet his comments can sometimes send a different message.

Two years ago, in a Friday sermon at the mosque, Sheik Tantawi declared: “One who blows himself up among those [Israeli] aggressors is a martyr, martyr, martyr … .” He later backed off slightly, saying suicide bombers should not target women and children.

More recently, Sheik Tantawi called for Muslims “to support and defend the people of Iraq” as the U.S.-led war there began last year.

Fahmi Howeidi, a Cairo-based writer on Islamic affairs, said intellectuals and hard-line Muslims believe al Azhar has lost its independence because of its alliance with the Egyptian government. That has undermined al Azhar’s authority, creating a vacuum, he said.

“In this vacuum, the extremists found a good opportunity to try to propagate their views and to try to lead the Muslim world,” Mr. Howeidi said.

Story Continues →