Egyptian Religious Leaders Stress Interfaith Tolerance

By Greg Noakes

Broach the subject of Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt with most Western observers and you're likely to hear about intolerance, polarization and fanaticism. International human rights organizations have criticized government constraints on the construction and repair of churches. Others have protested the treatment of members of the Christian minority at the hands of Egyptian security forces. Savage attacks on Coptic Christians by radical Gama'at Islamiyya cells in Upper Egypt have garnered international headlines for a number of years.

Yet two of Egypt's leading religious leaders chose to highlight the ties that bind their communities, rather than the issues which separate them, during a recent two-week visit to the United States. Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, the grand mufti of Egypt, and the Rev. Samuel Habib, president of the Protestant Churches of Egypt, stressed themes of tolerance, goodwill and mutual dependence between Egypt's Muslims and Christians throughout their visit.

The joint tour was organized by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and took the pair to New York, the District of Columbia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, where they each received an honorary doctorate in peacemaking from New Wilmington's Westminster College. The two men met with John Cardinal O'Connor, Vice President Al Gore, members of Congress, United Nations diplomats, academics, journalists and Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologians and clergy, in addition to talking with an estimated 2,000 other Americans at a variety of public receptions. Tantawi and Habib spoke under the auspices of the Washington National Cathedral, the National Council of Churches, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Press Club and at mosques and universities. Special sessions also were held with various Egyptian-American communities around the country.

The trip provided interested Americans with access to two of Egypt's leading advocates of interfaith dialogue and cooperation. Sheikh Tantawi, who was appointed grand mufti in 1986, is the nation's highest Islamic religious authority, holds ministerial rank in the Egyptian government and is responsible for issuing fatwas (legal opinions) on issues of concern to the Muslim community. He holds a doctorate from Al-Azhar in Qur'anic exegesis and hadith (traditions of the Prophet Muhammad), hosts a variety of television and radio programs, writes regularly in the Egyptian press and is the author of a 15-volume Intermediate Commentary of the Qur'an.

Sheikh Tantawi is no stranger to controversy. One fatwa that has provoked considerable discussion is the mufti's ruling that simple bank interest is permissible in Islam, while excessive interest rates constitute riba (usury) and thus are forbidden. Tantawi also issued a fatwa supporting the discussion of family planning issues at last September's U.N. International Conference on Planning and Development in Cairo.

Dr. Samuel Habib, an ordained minister since 1951, is founder and director of the 45-year-old Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS). As president of both the Protestant Churches of Egypt and the Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches he is a prominent voice among the region's Protestant Christian community. A prolific writer and speaker, Habib is no stranger to the United States, having received a master's degree in journalism from Syracuse University and his doctorate of divinity degree from Ohio's Muskingum College.

Tantawi and Habib said they wanted to make Americans aware of the positive aspects of interfaith relations in their country. The mufti declared, "Muslims and Christians in Egypt share a mutual affection and a desire for peace...All of us in Egypt are joined together in sincere friendship, respect for our faiths and love for our shared homeland." Habib added, "If we emphasize issues that unite us at the same time we talk about the issues that separate us with mutual respect, we can begin to work together."

Putting Belief Into Practice

The two men have put this credo into practice. Habib's CEOSS is engaged in charitable activities with some 25 Muslim organizations. The minister argued, "There is no Muslim relief or Christian relief. Relief is for a person in need....We are all sons and daughters of the Creator, the One God." Habib also has organized sunset iftar (fastbreaking) meals during Ramadan to bring Muslims and Christians together. Sheikh Tantawi is a frequent visitor to these dinners, which are held every year in Cairo, Alexandria and Minya. The mufti was the first Muslim religious official to make a public address in an Egyptian church when he, Dr. Habib and Islamic thinker Dr. Muhammad Salim Al-Awa spoke on "Religious Thought and the Advancement of Society" at the Heliopolis Evangelical Presbyterian Church in November 1992.

The two men also wanted "to correct some distortions in the image of Islam," Sheikh Tantawi told an audience of academics at Washington, DC's American Muslim Council. "Some of the American media, and some individuals in the U.S., believe that Islam condones killing or terrorism or violence. All of that is untrue." Tantawi asked people in the West to seek knowledge of Islam not from "traders in religion" but from "scholars of faith who are able to give an authoritative picture....Wise men have said that those who are ignorant of something are its enemies."

Many of the questions posed during the pair's appearances dealt with democracy in Egypt. Both speakers pointed to public expressions of dissent as an indication of political freedom. "Some people describe the government of [Egyptian President Hosni] Mubarak as oppressive," Tantawi told an audience at the National Press Club, "but this in itself is an indication of freedom in Egypt. These citizens are able to express their views. This is not a government that muzzles or silences its critics."

Habib echoed the mufti's argument. Pointing out that Egypt's opposition newspapers presently "criticize the president and members of the government, and address controversial issues," he cautioned, "You don't expect a country like Egypt, an autocratic system since the days of the pharaohs, to move quickly to a democratic system like American democracy. People may misuse democracy. You have to train them."

Asked how the American principle of the separation of church and state would find expression in Egypt, Sheikh Tantawi replied, "We are in an age of specialization....Separation between religion and politics, as I understand it, allows each specialist to exercise his or her specialty. The religious leader should not get involved in political affairs he does not understand, and the politician should not stick his nose into the details of religious affairs in which he is not specialized. The shariah, or Islamic law, does not distinguish between matters of faith and of life. It allows each person his specialty and calls upon them to cooperate with others in truth and with honor. That is shariah as I understand it."

Scholars at the American Muslim Council gathering pressed Sheikh Tantawi about the free expression of unorthodox ideas. "Freedom of speech in Islam is guaranteed in the fullest sense, but this freedom does not transgress either religious doctrine or the law," the mufti responded. "If you insult me in my faith and my honor, it is my duty to respond. The arbiter between us is the legal system." With regard to the case of Said Al-Ashmawi, an Egyptian jurist and intellectual whose provocative writings on Islam have offended many traditional scholars, Tantawi stated, "Ashmawi expresses his own views and opinions in whatever he writes. If he is free to express his religious opinions, it is my right as grand mufti to express my legal opinion and to point out to him the correct and proper judgment according to the shariah. Neither I as mufti nor Al-Azhar has prohibited anyone from writing," Tantawi explained, "but it is within our rights to respond to mistaken views about Islam."

Sheikh Tantawi and Reverend Habib also were asked about reports that the Egyptian government uses technicalities to block the construction of new churches and the repair of existing Christian sites. Habib acknowledged the difficulties but pointed out that churches can be built or repaired once a government license is procured. Tantawi noted the longstanding friendship he shares with Coptic Pope Shenouda III and said, "I personally believe in freedom of doctrine, and I believe it is the right of my Christian brothers in Egypt, as of their Muslim neighbors, to build places of worship within the proper regulations. If there are any transgressions of this right, I am prepared to sit down with His Holiness Pope Shenouda and Dr. Samuel Habib and with other Christian leaders to discuss this matter and to change these laws if they are at all oppressive. Justice is our guide."

As to the role of Egypt's Christians in governing the country, Sheikh Tantawi said government appointments are made on the basis of merit, not on sectarian considerations. "I can say that in Egypt there are Christian cabinet ministers, university professors, etc. In the Egyptian government apparatus there are Christians, each in accordance with their ability and specialty. If the statistics show an underrepresentation of our Christian brothers, I am one of the Muslim religious leaders who are ready to stand beside them in all truth, honesty and courage." Habib said one reason for the scarcity of Egyptian Christians in public life is the community's attitude toward politics. "Since the 1950s," Habib explained, "the church has withdrawn from political life. Now, when we look for people in the church to participate in political life, they are very, very few." Habib said that because Egyptian churches now support the participation of their members in political activities, the numbers of Christians in public life should rise.

Controversial Questions

The mufti declined to respond to questions about the trial of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman on conspiracy charges since the case is currently before the American courts, but he did discuss the issue of Salman Rushdie and The Satanic Verses. Tantawi told reporters in New York that British authorities should select three religious scholars—a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim—to review Rushdie's book and ask the author about the sources for his treatment of the Prophet Muhammad. "After the discussion of what Rushdie has written, I will be satisfied with [the scholars'] judgment," the sheikh said. "My judgment is that Salman Rushdie is a person without religion whose chief pursuit is the pursuit of wealth."

Tantawi and Habib both said that religious extremism in the region had to be overcome through cooperation. "There are extremists and fundamentalists in various parts of the world using violence to force their opinions on others," Rev. Habib stated. "We are trying to work together on different levels—at the grassroots level and at the political level—so that fundamentalism can be brought under control."

Tantawi declared, "We absolutely oppose attacks against innocent people, whether Jews, Christians or Muslims. We totally reject anyone who transgresses another while hiding behind the name of religion. It is absolutely necessary that a crime should be attributed to the perpetrator and not to the religion with which he is affiliated."

Habib concurred and struck a hopeful note for the future. "There are Muslim fanatics, Christian fanatics and Jewish fanatics....The only way to build a glorious future is to be positive, join hands and work together."

Greg Noakes, an American Muslim, is the news editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.