By Raymond Ibrahim ——Bio and Archives--November 29, 2016
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When they [reformers] say that Al Azhar must change the religious discourse, change the religious discourse, this too is, I mean, I don't know--a new windmill that just appeared, this "change religious discourse"--what change religious discourse? Al Azhar doesn't change religious discourse--Al Azhar proclaims the true religious discourse, which we learned from our elders.As all Egyptians know, the one man that made the phrase "change religious discourse" famous is President Sisi. He too has publicly called on Al Azhar to reconsider its usage of ancillary books--most notably on New Year's Day, 2015--in an effort to change the international image of Islam, from one of war and enmity, to something more tolerant. Now the highest Muslim authority in Egypt has made clear that Al Azhar never had any intention of changing anything, that the "religious discourse" articulated in the Medieval era--one of hostility and violence for the other, in a word, jihad--is the only "discourse" Muslims can accept. Anything else is apparently quixotic--"tilting at windmills."
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RAYMOND IBRAHIM (RaymondIbrahim.com) is a widely published author, public speaker, and Middle East and Islam expert. His books include Crucified Again: Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians (2013) and The Al Qaeda Reader (2007). His writings, translations, and observations have appeared in a variety of publications, including Fox News, Financial Times, Jerusalem Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Times Syndicate, United Press International, USA Today, Washington Post, Washington Times, and Weekly Standard; scholarly journals, including the Almanac of Islamism, Chronicle of Higher Education, Jane’s Islamic Affairs Analyst, Middle East Quarterly, and Middle East Review of International Affairs; and popular websites, such as American Thinker, the Blaze, Bloomberg, Christian Post, FrontPage Magazine, Gatestone Institute, the Inquisitr, Jihad Watch, NewsMax, National Review Online, PJ Media, VDH’s Private Papers, and World Magazine. He has contributed chapters to several anthologies and been translated into various languages.