Dar
al-Ifta’s observatory of takfiri fatwas offers a comprehensive system to
confront extremism and its endeavours to spread sectarian strife.
ByNader
Aboul Foutouh
In an
interview with The Arab Weekly, Egyptian Grand Mufti Shawky Allam, head of the
General Secretariat of Fatwa Authorities Worldwide, said the challenge of
confronting extremism must consider the diversity of extremist forms of exploitation
of Islam and politics.
Allam said
the Dar al-Ifta seeks to have better control over and correct terminology used
in the media by extremist groups. It has asked the term “political Islam” be
replaced with “political Islamist groups” following the transformation of Islam
by those groups into a political tool based on extremist perceptions aimed at
destroying the foundations of the state.
He said Dar
al-Ifta’s observatory of takfiri fatwas continually monitors and following up
on takfiri discourse in print, audio-visual and digital media. The observatory
quickly responds to inaccuracies and misleading claims. It publishes correct
content and interpretations of the faith by communicating in 18 foreign
languages.
Dar al-Ifta
uses the same strategies and means used by extremist groups to establish a
presence in social media. It has 8.6 million Facebook followers after upgrading
the page through publication of clear and concise fatwas, instead of the
previous long-winded explanations.
The
Egyptian official institution has begun a publication in English called Insight
to counter Dabiq and Roumieh magazines published by the Islamic State (ISIS).
Dar al-Ifta also created an animation and video graphic unit to publish digital
art and content in cyberspace because those art forms can cross language
barriers.
Allam said
he considers that given the chaos prevailing in the field of fatwas and given
the existence of contradictory fatwas around the world, coordination among
fatwa-issuing bodies worldwide has become imperative. The goal is to
consolidate moderate views, correct misconceptions and promote global stability
and peaceful co-existence.
Allam said
he is keen on addressing all kinds of issues concerning fatwas, even those
related to the most basic details of daily life, to prevent the average citizen
from being manipulated by extremists. In 2019, it issued about 1.1 million
fatwas that have had great effect on Muslims everywhere.
He added
that political Islam groups, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, sowed seeds of
religious extremism and provided ISIS with the ideological background and cover
for dividing the Muslim Ummah and branding Muslim societies as godless,
especially following the failure of the Muslim Brotherhood political project,
which was based on false Islamic precepts, wrong moral values and false and
hollow slogans.
Dar
al-Ifta’s observatory of takfiri fatwas was founded five years ago to restrict
religious extremism and explain its causes and contexts. Allam said the
observatory offers a comprehensive system to confront extremism and its
endeavours to spread sectarian strife.
It
continuously monitors the hard-line fatwas issued by extremist groups, analyses
them based on a solid scientific approach and responds to them in comprehensive
detailed reports. Since its creation, the observatory has issued more than 500
reports.
The
observatory has monitored more than 5,500 fatwas worldwide, most of which were
deemed to give incorrect or misleading opinions about the relationship between
Muslims and Christians in Islam; 70% of the fatwas prohibited Muslims from
dealing with non-Muslims and 20% of them strongly advised against it.
Allam
stressed the need to renovate religious discourse to keep pace with the times
and achieve the purposes of Islamic law without violating its constants or
disregarding known solid part of religion. The new discourse must be built on
avoidance of conflict and promoting moderation, away from fanaticism and
hatred.
The
Committee of Religious Affairs and Endowments of the Egyptian parliament is
preparing draft bills seeking to turn Dar al-Ifta into a full-fledged
international religious body and to restrict public issuance of fatwas to
scholars with the specialised competencies to do so.
Allam
pointed out that Dar al-Ifta works globally to prevent distortion of the image
of Islam through its Observatory of Islamophobia. The observatory was
established to monitor Islamophobia and counter errant perceptions about Islam
and Muslims in non-Muslim countries.
Its efforts
include sending Dar al-Ifta scholars on lecture tours around the world, keeping
close communication links with Muslim communities, training imams of Islamic
centres and establishing training programmes in jurisprudence to prepare a new
generation of enlightened preachers able to address and interact with younger
generations.
(Courtesy:
The Arab Weekly)