Al Azhar Grand Mufti: Is He a Radical Extremist?

Hat tip to PJ Media

Al Azhar University in Cairo is considered the world's leading Islamic theological center. Therefore, when its grand mufti, Sheikh Ali Gomaa, makes a proclamation declaring Christians to be infidels-in a society wracked by violence, death and church destruction aimed at Coptic Christians, the world needs to sit up and take notice.


http://pjmedia.com/blog/top-muslim-institution-declares-all-christians-%e2%80%98infidels%e2%80%99/

These are not the ravings of say, Abdul Alim Musa, Anjem Choudary, or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This is a man whose words carry great worth in the Muslim world. This is considered top shelf Islamic scholarship here. It also must be taken within the context of the on-going persecution against Christians being carried out in Egypt, as well as Pakistan, Iraq, Iran and other countries.

Several days ago, Hedieh Mirahmadi spoke at UC Irvine. She is an American Muslim who has dared speak out against Islamic extremism, as well as the phony moderate organizations in America like CAIR. Yet, she is a Muslim who will defend her faith when questioners ask her about disturbing passages in the Koran and hadith. With all due respect to Ms. Mirahmadi, she needs to consider the words of the grand mufti. It is not so easy to lump him in with the Salafist hate-mongers she courageously criticizes.

Is it?

Several months ago, I heard Imam Faisal Rauf speak at UCLA, he of the Ground Zero mosque. He spoke of the need for Muslims, Christians and Jews to join together against the radicals and extremists of all our faiths. My question then was, "Where are the radicals and extremists within Christianity and Judaism who are committing acts of terror world-wide?" My question now is what Rauf has to say to the grand mufti of Al Azhar University?

Then there is Muzammil Siddiqi, the so-called "bridge-builder" in Orange County, who spoke of extremists who were protesting his award from the Orange County Human Relations Commission a few months ago (a protest in which I took part). Siddiqi is most recently on tape proclaiming that Islam is "a religion of peace". A couple of weeks back, his mosque in Garden Grove was one of many that held an open mosque day for non-Muslims to visit and learn more about Islam. I wonder what Mr Siddiqi has to say about the words of the grand mufti of Al Azhar-especially given the events in Egypt. Keep in mind that the bookstore in Siddiqi's mosque features the works of such "moderates" and "bridge-builders" as Abul Ala Maumudi and Sayyid Qutb, of which I will have more to say later. I invite the reader to Google those names. They were hardly bridge-builders.

It is also relevant to bring up Yusuf al Qaradawi, the leading spiritual voice of the Muslim Brotherhood. His taped sermons reek of references to his desire to die in battle fighting the infidels and references to the Holocaust being God's punishment to Jews. Are we to consider him as one who is twisting the truth?

It is easy to dismiss people like Ahmadinejad, Choudary, Musa, and others as nuts. It is not so easy to say that people like the grand mufti of Al Azhar, and Qaradawi are outside the mainstream.