Arab-West Report Paper 12, January 2009 Title: The Religious of the Azhar Author: Magnus Bredstrup Reviewer Bāhir Dukhān Edited by: Cornelis Hulsman, Editor-in-chief Arab-West Report, Clare Turner, academic language editor CIDT

Religious Censorship in the Azhar

Magnus Bredstrup

List of contents:

Introduction

Historical background

1961 reforms

The Azhar reasserts its influence

Censorship in the 1980s and 1990s

Censorship under Shaykh Muhammad Sayyid Tantāwī

Nawal al-Sa'dawi and Haydar Haydar

Conclusion

Introduction

Freedom of expression has been a widely discussed issue in the Middle East in recent years, especially following the publication in 2005 of the Danish cartoons that depicted the Prophet Muhammad in a satirical way. While Jyllands Posten, the Danish newspaper that published the cartoons argued for their right to ridicule and religious figures, this view was met with little sympathy in Arab countries where many people seem to have a quite different view of freedom of expression in relation to .

The controversy aroused by these drawings sparked discussions concerning the limits of freedom of expression and the cartoons were condemned by governments and organizations in the region. Such calls for limiting freedom of expression when it is related to sensitive religious issues have a long history in the Middle East as accusations of and ridiculing religion have often been asserted. Egypt has thus seen a number of organizations and individuals arguing for the need to censor and ban material and stop it from being published in the public domain. While a wide range of entities and individual activists have been active in promoting censorship, perhaps the most prominent institution to engage in banning books has been the Islamic Research Academy under the Azhar University. The Azhar's role as a highly esteemed interpreter and arbiter in Islamic issues has given the institution special weight as an authority in censorship cases. The judgments of the Islamic Research Academy carry with them the weight of some of the most renowned Islamic scholars in the Muslim world and the academy is consulted by various Egyptian authorities on a wide range of issues related to . It is thus a voice which the Egyptian state and public pay attention to and quite a few literary works have been banned as a result of its recommendations.

The question of religious censorship is naturally one which has been discussed intensely in the public with arguments being put forth both for and against it. It brings to the fore difficult questions about whether religious sensitivities should be respected at the cost of freedom of expression or not, and how one is to judge literary works from a religious point of view. Statements made in literature necessitate a great deal of interpretation to understand them in their context and for example offensive statements being made by a certain character in a book can thus hardly be taken to be an indication of the author’s point of view. Nonetheless, literary works have been censored and banned for exactly such reasons as specific statements have been taken out of context and presented to the public, sparking outrage and demands for confiscation of the work and the punishment of the author. It should be said, however, that while the Azhar and the Egyptian authorities may ban a book, it is quite often the case that the book remains on the market, as increased in connection with a ban and little actual regulation of the market tends to take place.

This research paper deals with the censorship of the Islamic Research Academy and tries to place it in its historic context. In order to shed some light on the reasons that specific books have been banned, this paper will highlight a number of cases from recent years and seek to present the justifications behind banning various works. These justifications are highly relevant to current debates as they represent a rather different understanding of freedom of expression from the one that certain newspapers in Europe have been promoting since the publication of the aforementioned Danish cartoons. While the material on which this paper is based certainly does not provide a comprehensive overview of the censorship practices of the Azhar, it does nonetheless provide an interesting insight into the context and arguments for the implementation of religious censorship in Egypt.

Historical background

The Azhar University is one of the oldest Islamic universities in the world. The Azhar mosque was built in 969 CE and a madrasah (religious school) was connected with it in 988 CE. Studies in Islamic jurisprudence started in 975 CE under Abū al-Hasan cAlī Ibn Nucmān. While the university was initially a Shīcah institution, it took on a Sunnī orientation in the late Middle Ages and has remained so ever since. As a university, it issues academic degrees in a range of fields but the institution's prestige is based on its status as one of the most esteemed authorities on Islamic issues. It continues to retain this high prestige in the Islamic world but recent years have seen the institution's image tainted by government meddling in its affairs and public discussions about the institution's rule in Egyptian society and politics.

Relations between the Egyptian state and the Azhar have changed a great deal in the last two hundred years. Muhammad cAlī sought to diminish the influence of the institution and therefore set in motion land reforms to nationalize waqf [religious endowments] land while he established a judiciary independent of the Sharīcah courts and a secular school system. During the early twentieth century, laws were introduced that centralized the Azhar and put more power into the hands of the grand shaykh. Jamāl cAbd al-Nāsir's regime saw the state take over all waqf land, abolish Sharīcah courts and expand the Azhar colleges. The result of the reforms was largely that the institution had little autonomy and was used to issue fatwás that supported the policies of Nāsir’s ideology. A policy to nationalize mosques and control them had been undertaken during Nāsir's reign but was sped up significantly after Mubārak assumed the presidency. While statistics indicate that there were some 3000 state mosques in 1962 and 14,000 private ones, this had changed to 50000 state mosques and 20,000 private mosques in 1992. The efforts to control mosques have been strongest in Upper Egypt and parts of Cairo where radical movements have been most active1.

1961 reforms

The Azhar was reformed by Jamāl cAbd-Nāsir’s regime in 1961. The government alleged that the institution had been unable to keep up with modern times and the ulama [religious scholars] were presented to the public as upholders of conservative and traditional values, out of touch with the present day. Due to the political climate of the time, the ulama were unable to offer effective resistance to the government initiatives and the Azhar was thus reformed with two important changes to its structure. Firstly, it was decided that new science departments be established, introducing natural sciences, mathematics and other subjects, while the kuttāb, the religious schools of the Azhar, were replaced with ma'ahid [institutes]. Secondly the Azhar was brought entirely under government control and its administration was restructured2.

The 1961 reforms also set up the legal framework for the Islamic Research Academy. Article 15 of law 103, 1961, states that “the Islamic Research Academy is the supreme authority for Islamic research and its task is to remove from it excesses and defects and the effects of political and sectarian fanaticism, to expand the spheres of knowledge about it at all levels and in all environments, and to express [its] opinion with regard to any sectarian problems or social problems related to faith it finds.” The role of the Islamic Research Academy [IRA] is further specified in Presidential Decree No. 250 of 1975 which

1 Mustafá, Tamir, 'Conflict and Cooperation between the State and Religious Institutions in Contemporary Egypt', Int. J. of Middle East Studies 32 (2000). pp. 4-8 2 Zeghal, Malika, 'Religion and Politics in Egypt: The Ulama of the Azhar, Radical Islam and the State (1952-1994) ',Int. J. of Middle East Studies 31 (1999) pp. 373-374 states that the IRA is to follow up on items that are published related to Islam and shall issue recommendations to those who work in the field of Islamic culture3.

The Azhar reasserts its influence

While the government succeeded in gaining control over the Azhar, this came to have negative consequences for the institution’s reputation. The image of the Azhar was thus tarnished in the eyes of the Egyptian public and especially in the view of Islamic militants. The rising extremist violence in the 1990s meant that the government needed a strong Islamic voice to counter the rhetoric of the al- Jamācah al-Islāmīyah. As the Azhar's influence on the extremists was limited because of its government affiliation, the organization was allowed to take a more independent stance on a number of issues. This increased power of the Azhar was visible in its propagation of clitoridectomy under Shaykh Jād al- Haqq, its criticism of the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development, in Cairo in 1994 and the case of Faraj Fudah. Fudah was an Egyptian intellectual whom the Azhar scholars had accused of and who was subsequently murdered by Islamic extremists. Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazālī, a prominent member of the Islamic Research Academy at the time, argued during the ensuing trial that if the state was unwilling to put apostates to death, then others would have to do it. The case shows an increasingly independent Azhar asserting itself against the Egyptian government. This was also evident in other widely discussed cases during the early 1990s. The Azhar scholars gave weight to the allegations of apostasy against Nasr Abū Zayd while Ala' Hāmid was sentenced to eight years in prison at the instigation of the Azhar for his novel ‘a Distance within a Man's Mind’4.

The Azhar scored another major victory in 1994 when it was granted the right to censor audiovisual productions. The Council of State, issued a fatwá stating that “the Honorable Azhar is the final arbiter in the assessment of the Islamic factor, whose opinion is binding for the Ministry of Culture concerning granting or refusing the license for audio and audiovisual productions5.”

The increasing power of the Azhar in the wake of the fatwá was discussed by Egyptian intellectuals at a workshop in 1994. Najīb Fakhrī, former chairman of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights [EOHR], stated that “[t]he problem we are now facing is that of the Azhar as a new ecclesiastical body. Meanwhile, the government is trying to outdo the fundamentalists by making itself look more religious, and this is where the Azhar, as an ecclesiastical body, imposing its rule, comes in. Men of religion are increasingly gaining ground every day since the government believes that this is the only way to fight fundamentalism, despite the fact that these men of religion may prove to be even more of a threat than the fundamentalists. It is this attempt by the government to play the piety card that has brought the Azhar to the foreground and given it more powers6.” 2004 saw the Azhar being granted the right to censor or confiscate material by the Justice Minister Fārūq Sayf al-Nasr. According to the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights Azhar inspectors were granted the right to confiscate “publications, cassettes and speeches that contradict Islamic principles, legislation and values”. The EOHR claimed that the Islamic Research Academy had the right to censor and confiscate “all kinds of publications – even those with no relation to religion.” The organization

3 Hilal, Reda Muhammad, Al-Maqsala wa al-Tanwwur: Hurriyat al-Ta'bir fi Masr 2002-2003, Al-Majmu'a al-Mutthida, Cairo 2003, p 418

4 The sentence was not carried out as the prime minister did not sign its ratification, Freedom of Opinion and Belief: Restrictions and Dilemmas, Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, 1994, p20 5 Ibid p. 14 6 Ibid p. 43 considered the increased rights given to the Azhar as a breach of the original 1961 law describing the functions of the Islamic Research Academy7. While the Azhar certainly makes use of its right to comment on and recommend the ban of books, it seems unclear to what extent the organization uses inspectors to confiscate material in bookstores and elsewhere.

The developments since the state assumed formal control of the Azhar in 1961 are thus characterized by the gradual reassertion of Azharite influence. The institution has remained under formal state control and the government certainly still has the upper hand in the relationship between the two, but the Azhar has been able to gradually assert its influence especially in the cultural field.

Censorship in the 1980s and 1990s

The Egyptian state felt a strong need to defend itself against the onslaught of militant Islam in the 1980s and 1990s. The Azhar was used to countering this rhetoric but in order to do so, the institution was given more leeway in censoring books and media. According to some Egyptian human rights activists this even involved the Azhar transgressing its legal limitations in some cases. Another important reason for the increasingly interventionist behavior of the institution was the nomination of Jād al-Haqq cAlī Jād al-Haqq to the post of the grand imām of the Azhar. He held highly conservative views and challenged the government on a number of issues, perhaps most prominently in connection with the 1994 United Nations International Conference on Development and Population in Cairo. The Azhar was competing with the Saudi-Arabian Hay’at al-Iftā' [Fatwá Authority] and Jād al-Haqq Ali Jād al-Haqq sought to assert the institution through more conservative rulings and increasing the censorship of publications. Furthermore the general drift toward a more conservative, wahhabi-inspired Islam from the 1970s onwards may also have had an influence on the Azhar8.

The Islamic Research Academy thus censored dozens of books in the 1980s and 1990s. The most prominent among these was perhaps the continued warnings against the Najīb Mahfūz book ‘Children of the Alley’/‘Awlād Haritna’. The book was reprinted as a series in a newspaper after Mahfūz had been awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, but the continued controversy in Islamic newspapers eventually led to Mahfouz being stabbed in the neck by a radical Islamist. The same work was also prevented from being aired by the ‘Sawt al-Arab’-radio station in 1988. The reason for this was apparently the book’s ‘infringement of the divine’ and that it ‘contradicted the angels and prophets in a bad and insulting way’. The Islamic Research Academy paid increasing attention to censoring books which dealt directly with Islamic studies and the author Said al-‘Ashawi saw five of his works banned in 1992, among them ‘Usul al-Sharīcah’ [Origins of the Sharīcah], ‘Al-Ribā wa al-Fā’idah fī al- Islām’[Usury and Interest in Islam] and ‘Al-Khilāfah al-Islāmīyah’/ ‘The Islamic Caliphate’. As has quite often been the case with censored books in Egypt, the Islamic Research Academy recommended the ban of these work several years after their original publication. Books expressing the views of the militant Islamist groups were also banned, a move which is perhaps understandable in light of the violent conflict between these groups and the Egyptian state. The institution also banned the TV series ‘Abū cUbaydah Ibn al-Jarrah’ in 1985, once again on the pretext that the main character was a companion of the prophet and it was improper to present such a character in a television show. Likewise the renowned film ‘Al-Risālah’ [The Message] by director Mustafá al-cAqqād was banned for its representation of the Prophet Muhammad9.

7 www.eohr.org/press/2004/0614-1.html 8 Hilal, Reda Muhammad (et al.), Al-Maqsala wa al-Tatawwur: Hurriyat al-Ta'biir fii Masr 2002-2003, al-Majmu'a al- Muttahida, Cairo 2003, pp. 427-428 9 Ibid pp 428-430

Censorship under Shaykh Muhammad Sayyid Tantāwī

After the death of Shaykh Jād al-Haqq cAlī Jād al-Haqq in 1997, Muhammad Sayyid Tantāwī was appointed grand imām of the Azhar. He advocates more liberal views than his predecessor but at the same time the conflict between radical groups and the state has become less intense as scores of members of illegal groups have been arrested and the groups themselves lost a great deal of popular support because of the continued massacres of tourists in the country. This, however, does not mean that the institution has given up its censorship recommendations.

Shaykh Tantāwī explained the role of the Islamic Research Academy in an interview in 1999 stating that the role of the Islamic Research Academy was not to confiscate books but merely to comment on them. He stated that if a book insulted Islam, it would be recommended that the book be banned, but confiscating it was not the job of the Azhar. As for the process of selecting which works should be reviewed by the institution, he said that official bodies such as the Ministry of the Interior would refer works that they wanted the Azhar's opinion on to the Islamic Research Academy. It would thus be 'the requesting body' which carried out the actual confiscation of the work. If an author then had a problem with an Azhar decision, he could go to court and “the judge will be the arbitrator.10” This view was reiterated by Shaykh Ibrāhīm al-Fayyūmī of the Islamic Research Academy in 2007. He stated in an interview that “[w]e have a department devoted to evaluating Arab and foreign books that are sent to the institution. We are only responsible for giving an opinion. However, to ban a book is not our duty.”11 This view was again stated by Dr. cAbd al-Muctī Bayyūmī, a member of the Islamic Research Academy and former dean of the Usul al-Dīn Department of the Azhar University. In an interview with Watani International, he said that “The Islamic Research Academy possesses no executive power, except in the case of Qur’ān or Sunnah books. As to other books, the Islamic Research Academy examines any publication, whether book, film, tape or the like, once it receives a complaint about it from any member of the public who may deem the work contradictory to Islamic values or faith. The work in concern is then referred to the Islamic Research Academy’s department of research, culture and publications, which transfers it to the Azhar scholar who writes a report on the work. If he deems it contradictory to the Islamic faith, he recommends that it should be banned. The Islamic Research Academy debates this in its monthly session; it frequently refers the work once again to one of the ulama for a second opinion, then decides on the matter. If the work is deemed offensive the Islamic Research Academy would recommend banning it, but it is the Censorship Authority or State Security Apparatus that is authorized to turn the recommendation into action.”12

In 2002-2003 a member of the Islamic Research Academy suggested new standards it should abide by in its treatment of material. Firstly, the institution should express its opinion about a given work rather than censor it as this was seen as the authorities’ jurisdiction. Secondly he argued that the fact that the Islamic Research Academy did not agree with the contents of a work should not lead it to recommend banning the work but rather that there was a difference of opinion, which is good and approved by Islam. He added however that there was some knowledge of religion upon which all religions (madhahib) agree such as the belief in Allāh, his prophets, the five pillars of Islam and so forth. The Islamic Research Academy should reject everything that contradicted these. ‘Civilizational identity’, being a certain cultural core that defines nations from others, was also to be protected. Thus the ummah should be protected from all attempts to disintegrate it and everything that sought to disunite Muslims

10 Arab West Report 1999 week 47, Al-Musawwar, Nov. 19, 1999 11 Arab West Report 2007 week 19 article 4, Al-Dustūr, May 9, 2007 12 Arab West Report 2007 week 43 article 4, Watani International, October 28, 2007 should be rejected. Finally, rather than banning a work the academy should attempt to correct the mistakes in it which would benefit intellectual work more than simple rejection.13 What becomes obvious from this is that while the member of the Islamic Research Academy tried to systematize and moderate the view that the institution sought to impose censorship, it was also the intention to let the Azhar review a wide array of works and certainly not only ones that dealt directly with Islamic issues. It is a very broad definition of what the Azhar could impose censorship on, making the Islamic Research Academy the judge of whether literature and other materials are in agreement with Islamic and cultural values and to recommend its banning if not. Under Shaykh Tantāwī the Azhar thus sought to continue its policy of banning and censoring literary and audiovisual works.14

2003 censorship examples15

The desire to censor works can be clearly seen in a number of cases from 2003. The following are examples from that year and are featured here along with the reasons why it was deemed necessary that the work be banned: The book 'Al-Ijtihād Darūrah Qawmīyah wa al-Ictiqād Darūrah cIlmīyah' [Abortion is a National Necessity and Belief is Scientific Necessity] by Muhammad cAbd al-Muctī was censored because it apparently did not recognize 'borders' and 'moral order' and contradicted the basis of 'the true religion'. It also 'threatened security' and 'the continuation of the human species'. For these reasons the Islamic Research Academy recommended that the book should not be allowed to be published.

'Hadhā Qur'ānī' ['This is my Qur'ān'] by Muhammad cAbd al-Razīq was evaluated by the Islamic Research Academy and the institution advised that it should not be allowed to be published as it was deemed to 'infringe on sacred things, values and symbols that constitute Islamic and civilizational constants'. The author apparently denied 'divine inspiration and the behavior of the prophets and messengers'. Furthermore it was claimed that the author relied on weak evidence and mythical events to justify his conclusions.16

Ahmad Muhammad Salīm's book 'Zawāj al-Mutcah al-Halal bayna al-dīn wa al-Tatawwur wa al-Qāanūn' ['Lawful Mut'a Marriage between Religion and Development'] was recommended to be censored as well on the grounds that it argued for the permission of mutcah or temporary marriage and contradicted 'true marriage' as is presented in the Qur'ān. As is commonly known, this issue is widely disputed among Muslims with the Shīcah of as perhaps the most prominent proponents of these short term marriage contracts. The Islamic Research Academy expressed its belief that mutcah marriage would threaten the stability of society and 'lessen' the Islamic basis of marriage.17

The Islamic Research Academy also rejected the book 'Sinamā'iyāt al-Mashad al-Qur'ānī' [Cinematography in the Qur'ānic Narration] by Yāsir Anwar on the grounds that it 'insulted the illustrious Qur'ān' and ridiculed the prophets’ companions. The remarkable thing about this case is that at least two very similar books which also dealt with the artistic nature of the Qur'ān notably Shaykh Sayyid Qutb's 'Mashāhid al-Qiyāmah fī al-Qur'ān al-Karīm' [Scenes of the Hereafter in the Noble Qur'ān] and 'Al-Taswiir al-Fannī fī al-Qur'an' [Literary Description in the Qur'ān] were not banned and

13 Hilal, Reda Muhammad (et al.), Al-Maqsala wa al-Tatawwur: Hurriyat al-Ta'biir fii Masr 2002-2003, al-Majmu'a al- Muttahida, Cairo 2003, pp. 431-433 14 Ibid. pp. 433-434 15 This year has been chosen because material in which the justifications for banning a number of books was available. 16 Ibid, p 435 17 Ibid p 434-435 were available to buy on the market.18

In May 2003 the Islamic Research Academy recommended that the book 'Ra'yī fī al-Fikr al- Islāmī' ['My opinion on Islamic Thought'] be banned as it 'blamed Muslims for their backwardness in science'. The academy stated that the book was filled with nothing but 'chatter and which makes the reader frustrated and depressed'.19

In the same month the book 'Al-Imān wa al-Isrā' wa al-Micrāj' (Belief, Isrā' and al-Micrāj') by Sayyid Ahmad Hasan was also banned by the Islamic Research Academy. The book’s discussion of the belief in the afterlife was found to have 'scientific mistakes' and its conclusions 'called for doubt' supposedly on the mentioned religious issue.20

Nawal al-Sa'dawi and Haydar Haydar21

One author whose work has been subject to the censorship of the Azhar has been Nawal al- Sa'dawi. She has published a long list of novels, plays and non-fiction books, many of which have been translated into a number of languages. Her first novel was printed in Cairo in the 1960s22, and her literary works and statements have long attracted controversy in the Egyptian public. Egyptian newspapers thus mention the banning of the novel 'Woman at Zero Point' in 1999, according to the director of the American University in Cairo press.23 Two years later, her statements about Islam attracted criticism from Dr. Nasr Farid al-Wāsil, the Egyptian muftī, in 2001 when he claimed that her comments on the hijāb and traditions surrounding the Kacbah were paganism. The muftī used verses from the Qur'ān and the Hadith to argue that her beliefs ran contrary to Islam.24

2004 saw the banning of her novel 'The Fall of the Imām' which had originally been printed some 20 years ago. Newspapers claimed that the Azhar had obtained the right of judicial seizure but did not mention if the organization sought to seize the book. The Azhar stated that the novel “[...] is based on imaginary events and the hero is a principal character. The author gives the hero the title of ‘Imām’. The novel contains outrageous insults to Islam and its teachings.”25 Meanwhile al-Arabi newspaper attacked the novel and claimed that its point was that one could not trust religious figures and that the novel contained ideas that “ridicule Islam and its teachings and constants.”26 An interpretation of the novel was offered by Salah Fadl in al-Hayah newspaper claiming that the novel should be seen as a criticism of the patriarchal structure of Arab society with the 'imām' as a symbolic expression of this. He claimed that Nawal al-Sa'dawi “broke from the taboos of politics and society”.27 The banning of the book should perhaps be seen in the context of public demands.

According to Egyptian newspapers, 2007 saw the banning of a new controversial novel by Nawal al- Sa'dawi. Dar al-Hilal Publishing House printed her novel 'al-Riwaya' only to have it seized on the

18 Ibid p. 436 19 Ibid p 436-437 20 Ibid p 437 21 These cases have been chosen as they sparked major discussions in the public realm in Egypt while also showing important characteristics of the Azhar’s censorship 22 www.nawalsaadawi.net/bio.html 23 Arab West Report, 1999 week 32 article 45, Al-Ahram Weekly, August 5-11, 1999 24 Arab West Report, 2001 week 13 article 4, Al-Maydān, March 27, 2001 25 Arab West Report, 2004 week 22 article 2, Al-Hayah, May 24, 2004 26 Arab West Report, 2004-24-3, Al-Arabi, June 13, 2004; Al-Arabi, June 13, 2004 (p.15) [two articles] ; Al-Ahram Al-Arabi, June 12, 2004 (p. 54-55) 27 Arab West Report, 2004-25-5, Al-Hayah, June 17, 2004 recommendation of the Islamic Research Academy. It was alleged that the reasons for seizing the novel was that it dealt with 'the being of God' and apparently stated that God deals unfairly with victims and people in need while 'heaven has nothing but dry rain'.28

Nawal al-Sa'dawi’s play 'God resigns during the Summit' was denounced by the Azhar as well in 2007. Shaykh Ibrāhīm Fayyūmi of the Azhar stated that the “the play insults Islam and undermines the power of God by dealing with him as a human being,” while asserting that the role of the Islamic Research Academy is only a consultative one and that it does not itself confiscate materials.29 According to Nawal al-Sa'dawi’s website, cases were filed against her for apostasy and a lack of respect for the principles of Islam by the Azhar. She was allegedly forced to flee the country for Europe.30

Syrian novelist Haydar Haydar is another author whose work has been subject to controversy in Egypt. He published the novel 'Banquet for Seaweed' ('Waleemat A’shab Al-Bahr') in Syria in 1983 which was reissued in Egypt in October 1999 by the General Organization of Cultural Places under the Ministry of Culture as part of a series of Arab literature classics.

The story of 'Banquet for Seaweed' deals with issues of Arab revolution. It contains two narratives, one describing a communist uprising in Iraq in 1968 and another describing life in Algeria in the 1970s. It thus deals primarily with communism and Arab nationalism and the perceived failure of these ideologies in the wake of the Arab defeat following the 1967 war with Israel. The title of the book derives from an incident in which an exiled Iraqi flings himself into the sea in despair because of the conditions in Algeria, thereby becoming a 'banquet for seaweed'. While the main subject of the novel is thus not Islam but rather politics, it was particular comments made about Islam in the book that gave rise to the controversy.

The writer Hassan Nūr reviewed the book in al-Usbūc and accused Haydar Haydar of blasphemy against Islam. This was then seized upon by Muhammad Abbas who wrote an angry article with the title 'Who pledges to die with me?' in al-Sha'ab newspaper and called for Muslims to defend their faith against the alleged blasphemy of the novel and the resignation of the minister of culture for having printed it. The sentence which was seen as especially insulting to Islam was “[i]n the age of the atom, space exploration, and the triumph of reason, they rule us with the laws of Bedouin gods and the teaching of the Qur'ān. Shit!”31 The statement was made by a character in the book and can hardly be presented as the authors view as it is described in the following paragraph as “big buzzing words emanating from the demented mind of Mr. Bahili.”32 The juxtaposition of the words 'Qur'ān' and 'shit' was perceived as insulting by certain people, while the whole sentence itself taken out of its context and presented to people who had not read the book, leading to furious reactions.

The rising controversy brought thousands of Azhar students onto the streets and clashes between them and the police took place. Trying to quell the , the government referred the novel to Shaykh Tantāwī of the Azhar for review who demanded that the Azhar should check all books before publication in the future. The Azhar's assessment of the novel and the circumstances of its printing brought about the following problems: 1- The Ministry of Culture had not sought the views of the Azhar before publication, 2- the novel was full of phrases scorning all religions and divinities, including Allāh, the prophet and the Qur'ān, 3- it did not conform to moral values, was often erotic and

28 Arab West Report 2007 week 6 article 16, February 7, 2007 29 Arab West Report 2007 week 19 article 4, Al-Dustūr, May 9, 2007 30 www.nawalsaadawi.net/oldsite/news/07/07campaign/paris-demo.htm 31 Sabry Hafez, 'The Novel, Politics and Islam', New Left Review September-October 2000 p. 133 32 Ibid, p. 133 full of sexual asides, 4- it insulted all Arab rulers, attributing terrible crimes to them, and called on the people to rise up against them, 5- it violated religion, divine law, moral values and political decency.33

Newspapers wrote that the Islamic Research Academy's report on the book found '27 mistakes', 'scorns and humiliations of Islamic values' and 'includes shameless bad words'. It was claimed that the Islamic Research Academy had called for the seizure of the book and that it not be published again.34

Conclusion

The censorship activities of the Islamic Research Academy shed an interesting light on how the Azhar perceives religion and freedom of expression. The arguments for banning material have been characterized by a strong emphasis on the sanctity of religion and religious figures and this has been clearly demonstrated by the examples presented in this paper. This has been the case with literary works where instead of dealing with these as artistic products and interpreting their specific contents in its context, statements within the works have been presented as insulting to Islam and used to justify the banning of such works.

To sum up the justifications produced by the Azhar in the examples presented in this paper, they were generally characterized by insults against God, prophets, the Islamic heritage and non-conformity with the morals and values of society. They thus consist of perceived insults of God's name, the improper use of God, prophets, religious titles and so forth in literature, improper descriptions, behavior of characters and language which is perceived to poison the minds of the public. The Azhar therefore claims to uphold not only the sanctity of specific religious symbols but also the values of society. An assessment of the extent of the Azhar’s influence lies beyond the scope of this paper but the censorship cases presented here give an indication of the direction in which the institution seeks to move society.

The Azhar’s censorship is however also one which has to some extent been an assertion of a specific interpretation of Islam and as the institution has been closely linked to the government, it has also come to play a political role in the face of the Islamist threat. It was to a certain extent this threat and the Egyptian government’s need for the Azhar as an ideological front against Islamic militants that allowed the institution to reassert its influence, especially in the cultural sphere. The 1980s and 1990s saw little in the way of an opening of the political field but a moderate Islamic influence was allowed by the government in the cultural field, illustrated here by the Azhar’s increasing role.

33 Ibid p. 135-137 34 Arab-West Report, 2000 week 21 article 3, Aqidati, May 16, 2000

Bibliography:

Arab-West Report Database. Survey of material using index number 4.1.11.2.2 from 1999 to 2006.

Books and articles:

Freedom of Opinion and Belief: Restrictions and Dilemmas, Egyptian Organization for Human Rights 1994.

Hafez, Sabry, 'The Novel, Politics and Islam', New Left Review September-October 2000.

Hilal, Reda Muhammad (et al.), Al-Maqsala wa al-Tatawwur: Hurriyat al-Ta'biir fii Masr 2002-2003, al-Majmu'a al-Muttahida, Cairo 2003.

Mustafa, Tamir, 'Conflict and Cooperation between the State and Religious Institutions in Contemporary Egypt', Int. J. of Middle East Studies 32 (2000).

Zeghal, Malika, 'Religion and Politics in Egypt: The Ulema of al-Azhar, Radical Islam and the State (1952-1994)',Int. J. of Middle East Studies 31 (1999).

Websites:

Egyptian Organization for Human Rights: 'A Fresh Violation of , Belief, and Expression: EOHR rejects the decision to grant the Azhar the power of censorship' http://www.eohr.org/press/2004/0614-1.html

Nawal al-Sa'dawi website: www.nawalsaadawi.net/oldsite/news/07/07campaign/paris-demo.htm www.nawalsaadawi.net/bio.html

Comments on the religious Censorship of the Azhar

Baher Dokhan

Interning at the Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Translation (CIDT), Magnus Bredstrup wrote a paper on the religious censorship of the Azhar. Drs. Cornelis Hulsman asked me to write a comment on the paper. Due to the lack of adequate funds in the organization to finance the costs of authoring a review, the references that Magnus used were not checked and nor were the formulation of the passages he based his conclusions on. We agreed to write a brief comment with recommendations for further investigation that could be undertaken by an intern at a later date. The comments presented hereinafter are based on a reading of the paper but do not constitute an academic review or judgment which would need further investigation and the rigorous checking of information.

The paper contains some interesting viewpoints. It presents a good deal of information on the history of the Azhar and how according to the author it gradually assumed the power of censorship. It also presented examples of censorship cases and the arguments presented to justify the censorship. However, some phrases and passages are somewhat ambiguous while other passages could have been better checked or documented.

Saving the religion is one the five principal goals for rulings in Islamic teachings. The remaining four are to save the body, the mind, property and honor. There is a structural difference in the civilizational model between Muslims and the West. The Western civilizational model prefers individual obligation and freedom on religion related issues. It holds in high regard freedom of expression, represented in the reaction to criticism of religious values or figures in a more individualistic way and freedom of expression is a supreme and ruling value in the Western mentality. The Islamic civilizational model prefers collective obligation when it comes to freedom religion related issues and freedom of expression, represented in the reaction to criticism to religious values or figures in more collective and hierarchical way and truth and justice are the supreme ruling values in the Islamic mentality. It is noteworthy that the differences are not absolute. They are relative according to social and personal diversity. It is with this context in mind that the paper should be read. In this review I will quote passages from the text and give my personal comment on them.

"While a wide range of entities and individual activists have been active in promoting censorship, perhaps the most prominent institution to engage in banning books has been the Islamic Research Academy under the Azhar University."

The author did not specify the entities and individual activists who have been active in promoting censorship and even though that was not the specific research question, the author could have given some examples of those entities. Furthermore, the phrase “the most prominent institution to engage in banning books has been the Islamic Research Academy” does not seem to be accurate. It connotes, in advance, the participation of the Islamic Research Academy in “banning books”, appearing to give it decision-making powers and the executive authority to carry out the task or process of “banning books”. This in itself is something that is highly disputed as will be made clear later in the paper.

"Statements made in literature necessitate a great deal of interpretation to understand them in their context and for example offensive statements being made by a certain character in a book can thus hardly be taken to be an indication of the author’s point of view. Nonetheless, literary works have been censored and banned for exactly such reasons as specific statements have been taken out of context and presented to the public, sparking outrage and demands for the confiscation of the work and the punishment of the author. "

I could agree with the author on the idea that statements made in literature can hardly be taken to be an indication of the author's viewpoint. However, the author assumes that some literary works have been censored and banned because statements in them have been taken out of context and presented to the public, "sparking outrage and, demands for the confiscation of the work and the punishment of the author." It is not until later on in the paper that he provides evidence for what statements have been taken out of context and presented to the public but he seems to lead readers to the conclusion that a book can be banned for nothing but more than this. He overlooked the fact that official authorities are not be affected by outrage and such demands. Official authorities are to abide by the law and legal procedures and they should not be affected by outrageous uproars. Banning a book is a process which is bound by legal framework. It is not to be carried out ad hoc. Even if there is a sense of outrage about the publication of a controversial book or media material, the executive authorities are not to take any action before the material is reviewed and checked for the allegations that have been launched against it, be it blasphemy, a state security threat or any other accusation.

"A policy to nationalize mosques and control them had been undertaken during Nāsir's reign but was sped up significantly after Mubārak assumed the presidency. While statistics indicate that there were some 3000 state mosques in 1962 and 14,000 private ones, this had changed to 50000 state mosques and 20,000 private mosques in 1992. The efforts to control mosques have been strongest in Upper Egypt and parts of Cairo where radical movements have been most active."

The word “control” is not one that I agree with because the authorities at the time sought to develop the administrative and logistic support network of the Azhar. The modern model of the Egyptian regime established by former President Jamāl cAbd al-Nāsir tried to work out a new model for relations between the religious authority represented in the mosque and the new regime represented by President Nāsir. Therefore, it was not an issue of controlling the mosques but providing material and financial support and maintenance to help the mosques to carry out their role in society which is spiritually guiding the people. Meanwhile the increased number of state mosques after President Mubārak assumed the presidency shows the increasing support the presidency has for the mosque's message, not to put it under control. It seems to me the author unfortunately misinterpreted Egyptian policy.

The author did not provide a reference for the criteria on which he based the term “radical movements” which he used in the text to a group of people. Using such undisciplined terms could regrettably cause a great deal of confusion. It leads to the question “How radical is radical?” the relativity of terms and qualifiers should be recognized in this context. As the readers might know, Upper Egypt was also a stronghold for political Islam movement like the Muslim Brotherhood. So, the author needs to set the criteria for which groups he is referring to.

“Secondly, the Azhar was brought entirely under government control and its administration was restructured.”

Again, the author uses perceptional terms expressing “control” over the Azhar. Instead the government was trying to regulate and modernize the administrative system of the Azhar and transform its administrative bodies so that they were modern, up to date and compatible with standards for higher education. However, I would agree with the author on the point that the decision to separate the Awqaf (Muslim religious endowment) from the Azhar was not the best solution. The political leadership of that time might have thought that separating the Awqaf from the Azhar would lead to the Awqaf being managed in a better and more efficient way. Yet, the decision, unfortunately, led to the financial income of the Azhar being undermined which led in turn to questions being raised over the credibility and the autonomy of the institution in the light of the increased governmental support of the Azhar. The support from the profits of the religious endowments, which were initially administrated by the Azhar itself, were then administered by the government through the Ministry of Religious Endowments for the Azhar. But prejudging the policies of the leadership at that time as trying to bring the Azhar entirely under government control connotes that there was political adversary between the two.

"According to some Egyptian human rights activists this even involved the Azhar transgressing its legal limitations in some cases."

This statement is ambiguous. The context does not give much clarification on what legal limits have been transgressed by the Azhar, nor does it clarify when and how that happened. The statement also does not specify exactly which institution he refers to. He is probably referring to the Islamic Research Academy (IRA). The Azhar as an entity comprises of different bodies, the Azhar University, the grand imām's office as well as the Islamic Research Academy. The statement amounts to an unsubstantiated assertion as there is no clear evidence has been introduced to explain the legal limitations or the way in which it transgressed the law.

"Another important reason for the increasingly interventionist behavior of the institution was the nomination of Jad al-Haqq cAlī Jad al-Haqq to the post of the grand imām of the Azhar."

The phrase “interventionist behavior” is objectionable it suggests that the Azhar took the initiative to take measures to censor books. However, later in the paper, it appears that the Azhar only has a consultative role. It is only when material has been referred from the Material Censorship Authority to the Islamic Research Academy in order to receive the IRA's opinion on whether material should be considered religiously offensive or not that the IRA becomes involved. The Azhar has not become gradually influential in decisions to ban books. The Azhar, was and still does influence Muslims around the world. However, having eminent status as the supreme institution concerned with Islamic issues, cannot be logically interpreted as influencing the decision to ban books.

The Azhar's role in the issue of banning a book is set by the law to consider the referred material by the executive authority to check if it violates Islamic principles and laws. After a committee of Azhar scholars has reviewed the material, the committee decides on whether the material was found to be offensive or violate Islamic rules or not. It is then up to the executive authority to carry out the designated measures set by the law. Linking it to the nomination of Shaykh Jād Al-Haqq and introducing Shaykh Jād Al-Haqq's objections to proposal of the UN population conference as an example is quite irrelevant. The relationship between the example given and the conclusion is unclear.

"The Azhar was competing with the Saudi-Arabian Hay’at al-Iftā' [Fatwá Authority] and Jād al- Haqq cAlī Jād al-Haqq sought to assert the institution through more conservative rulings and increasing the censorship of publications. Furthermore the general drift toward a more conservative, wahhābī-inspired Islam from the 1970s onwards may also have had an influence on the Azhar."

The author did not introduce any evidence for what he called the competition between the Azhar and Hay'at al-Iftā' in . He suggested that this was proved by the Azhar taking more conservative rulings (though he did not specify which rulings on what issue), and by it increasing the censorship of publications though he did not specify which publications. He did not mention the reasons for censorship that were clearly stated in the cases when censorship was deemed to be necessary by the executive authority. He attributed the increasing censorship of publications to the grand imām of the Azhar, implying that the grand imām decided to show his power by censoring more books regardless of other factors. The conclusion drawn from the example is quite speculative while the examples themselves do not provide much decisive ground on which the conclusions can be built. In the way it is presented in the paper, such assertions about competition between the Azhar and Saudi Fatwá Authority are based more on interpretation and do not amount to established facts. Establishing a fact needs evidence and conclusion. Rejecting an assertion which is not supported by conclusive evidence does not need evidence.

The researcher did not provide or refer to statistics to prove his assertion about the drift of “Wahhābī inspired Islam” influencing the Azhar, probably because these do not exist. These types of statements tend to be based on the opinions of some observers. The term Wahhābism is not objectionable in itself but this formulation implies that there is a trend or entity called Wahhābī Islam or Wahhābī inspired Islam, just as there could be a Shaficī or a Tantāwī Islam The fact is that there was a scholar called Shaykh Muhammad Ibn cAbd Al-Wahhāb, who had conservative views. The author would have done better to disagree with his views and methodologically criticize them by providing evidence.

"The Islamic Research Academy thus censored dozens of books in the 1980s and 1990s. The most prominent among these was perhaps the continued warnings against the Najīb Mahfūz book ‘Children of the Alley’/‘Awlād Haritna’. The book was reprinted as a series in a newspaper after Mahfūz had been awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, but the continued controversy in Islamic newspapers eventually led to Mahfūz being stabbed in the neck by a radical Islamist. The same work was also prevented from being aired by the ‘Sawt al-Arab’-radio station in 1988. The reason for this was apparently the book’s ‘infringement of the divine’ and that it ‘contradicted the angels and prophets in a bad and insulting way’."

The researcher says “but the continued controversy in Islamic newspapers eventually led to Mahfūz being stabbed in the neck by a radical Islamist.” This novel is of a controversial nature. Mahfūz himself agreed that the novel was not to be printed unless the Azhar approved it2. . Some would argue that the book can be viewed as pure criticism of religion in the form of a novel. That was why some people vehemently objected to it. The controversy was not limited to just “Islamic newspapers” for which the researcher does not give references or a definition but took place in most newspapers. Moreover, he did not mention how he deduced that the controversy presented in the Islamic newspapers would incite a radical Islamist to stab Najīb Mahfūz,. He could have written that Mahfūz was subsequently stabbed and that some observers or journalists think there was a connection between the incident and the novel. Additionally, the researcher did not provide an explanation for what he meant by “radical Islamist”, nor did he state why would he label this person a “radical Islamist”.

"Books expressing the views of the militant Islamist groups were also banned, a move which is perhaps understandable in light of the violent conflict between these and the Egyptian state.”

The researcher is providing two contradictory ideas. On one hand, he proposed that the novel 'Children of the Alley', which launched heated controversy arguably leading to the author being stabbed in the neck, was cited as an example of the Azhar's “interventionist behavior” promoted by the Azhar competition with the Saudi Fatwá Authority and the influence of “Wahhābī inspired Islam” on the

2 http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/779/op6.htm] [http://leb.net/~aljadid/reviews/Controversial%20Mahfouz%20Allegory%20Published%20In%20New%20Translation.ht ml] Azhar. But, on the other hand, he find it perhaps understandable to ban books expressing the views of “militant Islamist groups” in the light of the violent conflict between these and the Egyptian state. The researcher recognizes the logic behind the right of the state to fight the “militant Islamist groups” and enforce the normally unacceptable policy of censorship against books discussing their ideas apparently to limit their efforts to win more followers in their conflict with the state, leading to social disorder. The researcher, nevertheless, fails to recognize the logic behind the Azhar's warnings against 'Children of the Alley' as containing criticism of religion that is unacceptable to the same society, leading to the very same result; social disorder.

“After the death of Shaykh Jād al-Haqq Ali Jād al-Haqq in 1997, Muhammad Sayyid Tantāwī was appointed grand imām of the Azhar. He advocates more liberal views than his predecessor"

The researcher described Dr. Tantāwī's views, compared to his predecessor as “more liberal”. Yet, he did not introduce a reference for what exactly “more liberal” means in this context.

“An assessment of the extent of the Azhar's influence lies beyond the scope of this paper but the censorship cases presented here give an indication of the direction in which the institution seeks to move society.”

This statement, “the censorship cases presented here give an indication of the direction in which the institution seeks to move society”, is not one I cannot accept. It suggests that the Azhar institution is directing Egyptian society through censorship back to the Dark Ages that is to have control over publications and the discourse of society. If the author proposes “the Azhar's censorship” and suggests it is used for political influence, then the direction in which the institution seeks to move society cannot be interpreted as a positive statement. Citing censorship cases, which the Azhar did not promote nor order to be carried out as a sign of its influence and direction is an unbalanced statement The conclusion, unfortunately, is logically flawed. The way the statement was formulated is open to interpretation in a way that does not explain the author's intention.

"The Azhar’s censorship is however also one which has to some extent been an assertion of a specific interpretation of Islam and as the institution has been closely linked to the government, it has also come to play a political role in the face of the Islamist threat. It was to a certain extent this threat and the Egyptian government’s need for the Azhar as an ideological front against Islamic militants that allowed the institution to reassert its influence, especially in the cultural sphere. The 1980s and 1990s saw little in the way of an opening of the political field but a moderate Islamic influence was allowed by the government in the cultural field, illustrated here by the Azhar’s increasing role."

The phrase “The Azhar's censorship is however also one which has to some extent been an assertion of a specific interpretation of Islam” is quite ambiguous. The statement does not clearly state which “specific interpretation of Islam” he is talking about, nor does it explain what the relationship is between that “specific interpretation of Islam” and censorship. Moreover the term “the Azhar's censorship” is unacceptable, academically and legally, because there is no censorship authority in the Azhar. The Azhar's role is only to give its opinion on the material that is referred to it by the Material Censorship Authority the government agency. The Azhar's opinion is binding concerning religious issues, that is in the legal framework because it is the institution concerned with religious affairs. However, this does not qualify it to be the deciding party when it comes to censoring a book. Such a decision is taken by the executive authority. The Azhar holds no executive authority. Then, the Material Censorship Authority carries out the appropriate executive measures. The researcher also used the term “the Islamist threat” with no reference for what exactly “the Islamist threat” is. The phrase “the institution has been closely linked to the government, it has also come to play a political role in the face of the Islamist threat” is quite speculative. Claiming that the Azhar, has been closely linked to the government is more of a personal conclusion than an academically authenticated statement. The author does not explain the link between the government and the Azhar. In this context, it could be easily understood that the Azhar is a tool in the hands of the government to fight political Islam movements and Islamic groups. This is untrue. The Azhar cooperates with the government for the best interests of society. Yet, it is not closely linked to it. The president cannot change the grand imām after he assumes the position until he dies leaving, in political terms, very limited room for politicization.

Claiming that “it has come to play a political role in the face of the Islamist threat” is a speculative conclusion. Unfortunately, the researcher does not seem to have recognized the principle functions of the Azhar foundation and could have drawn a sharper distinction

The phrase “The 1980s and 1990s saw little in the way of an opening of the political field” is questionable. The researcher uses broad terms in the conclusion that are not supported by any factual information. He did not refer to the standards according to which he thinks that the opening in the political field in the 1980s and 1990s was “little”. The statement could better be phrased as “the 1980s and 1990s saw proportional and gradual progress in the way of an opening of the political field”. Considering the political context of that time, there was an effort to focus on the renovation of the country's economic situation. With the rise of political Islamic groups the Muslim Brotherhood and some violent groups attempted to assume authority and assassinate the political leadership. Political reform was slowed to maintain the stability of the country. Yet, it was supported and proportional advancements were realized gradually, giving way to parliamentary and presidential elections.

Finally, The phrase “a moderate Islamic influence was allowed by the government in the cultural field, illustrated here by the Azhar’s increasing role” is unbalanced because it connotes that the government is controlling the influence of moderate Islamic entities such as the Azhar. The fact is that society interacted with moderate Islamic intellectuals and Azhar scholars and found their viewpoints more acceptable and balanced. Thus, it was a matter of societal interaction and convincing people, not influence allowed by the government that had to be effected through the Azhar. The statement connotes that the Azhar's role was decided by the government. This is not true.