The extremist Muslims in Egypt who call themselves Salafis have suddenly popped up. We would hear about them, but not see them. Then, when the youth revolution triumphed in the country, the Salafis rode the wave and began acting as if they had made the revolution. This is despite the fact that their political thought justifies the killing of those who revolt against the ruler, with their position being one of obeying the ruler, “even if he hits you in the back and takes your money.” Are these extremists the future of Egypt? I don't think so, but they are a force that should be reckoned with, as they are frightening the public. I have read in Egyptian newspapers about the “attack on the ballot boxes” (i.e. for the referendum) and about “the coming Salafi threat,” and “they are not fear-mongers, but rather fear itself.” What do the Salafis say? I will suffice by listing several comments that I have read by some of their sheikhs. --Whoever does not want Sharia rule has left the community of Islam. --The implementation of Sharia punishments and the compulsory wearing of the hijab (upon his exit from prison, Abboud Zomor called for imposing a tax on non-Muslims, but some sheikhs opposed this.) --Apostasy, denying the oneness of God, positive law and secularism are all crimes. The Salafis have chosen verbal understandings of religious teachings over rational analysis, while everything they have, and that surrounds them – clothes, pen and paper, the telephone, television, means of transport – were invented or made by foreigners. The Salafis prefer to live in the first century Hejira [beginning in the 7th century AD], as they perceive it. I have read that there are two types of Salafis, local and imported, meaning that there are extremists from within the country, and those who have returned from Afghanistan, Chechnya, and al-Qaida. Perhaps the group would not have become a daily staple of the entire Egyptian media if not for their dispute with Sufis over the destruction of the tombs of saints, which they say are individual acts that do not represent their stance. However, they are not convincing, since there have been many of these crimes, and many witnesses to them. Dr. Abdel-Hadi al-Qasabi, the sheikh of the Sufi orders, asked General Hussein Tantawi, the head of the ruling military council, to intervene to protect the tombs of the family of the Prophet and saints, and holy places, from being razed and demolished. The Salafis accuse the Sufis of representing a cunning deception foisted on Muslims, as they make prophets out of men. The Salafis say the Sufis are treacherous, bitter enemies of Islam, and are spies who betrayed Colonel Ahmad Arabi and brought the British to Egypt, and that they are agents of the Shiites, and the entry-point to seeing conversions to Shiiism in Egypt. They say that celebrating the birthday of Sufi saints represents a heretical change from the Prophet's teachings, and a denying the oneness of God, according to Abu-Ishaq al-Huwayni, the religious leader. How do they square this opinion with the existence of the Prophet's tomb in Medina? From published comments by Sheikh al-Huwayni and others, I understand that the Prophet was buried where he died, based on advice by Abu Bakr, and that his tomb lay outside his mosque. The tomb then became part of the mosque after al-Walid bin Abd al-Malik razed the building and then expanded it; he incorporated the Prophet's room, where the tomb of Muhammad is, and Aisha's room, into this new mosque. Egypt has always been rich in religious scholars and propagators of the faith, and clergymen who have rejected extremism. Dr. Abdullah al-Husseini, the minister of awqaf [religious endowments], announced a comprehensive plan to confront extremism in the name of Islam, in which the ministry's senior scholars and preachers would participate. But the extremists returned to attacking them, on the topic of the hijab, and claimed they owned a mosque that the government's documents prove does not belong to them. The sheikh of al-Azhar, Dr. Ahmad Tayyeb, has said that blood will flow if religious scholars do not confront these extremists. I have always considered comments by al-Azhar decisive, although the extremists carry on, armed with an issue every day. To be continued tomorrow. [email protected]
