On January 24, on the website of the Egyptian magazine "Yawm al-Sâbi" (The Seventh Day), a text appeared entitled "Document for the renewal of religious discourse." By that night, the text had already been posted on more than 12,000 other Arab websites.
Its importance was pointed out beyond the Arab world by a Jesuit [Catholic priest] and Islamologist, [Fr.] Samir Khalil Samir, Egyptian by birth, greatly respected by Benedict XVI. He has translated and commented on the essential parts of the document in two articles published by the online agency "Asia News" of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions.
The original text of the document, in Arabic, is on this web page of "Yawm al-Sâbi":
It is explained there that the document was written following the guidelines of 23 Egyptian Muslim thinkers, indicated name by name.
For Fr. Samir, they are all renowned scholars and believers. They include Nasr Farid Wasel, former grand mufti of Egypt; Gamal al-Banna, brother of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood; the imam Safwat Hegazi; professors Malakah Zirâr and Âminah Noseir; the famous Islamist writer Fahmi Huweidi; the preachers of Islamic missions Khalid al-Gindi, Muhammad Hedâyah, and Mustafa Husni. Three of these are shown at the top of the document, in the photo reproduced on this page.
The document is in 22 bullet points delineating a plan of reform for Islam: from a superficial and external practice of it to a more authentic and essential one.
Here it is, on the basis of a translation from Arabic made "on the fly" by Fr. Samir:
DOCUMENT FOR THE RENEWAL OF RELIGIOUS DISCOURSE
Cairo, January 24, 2011
1. Reexamine the collections of the Hadith [the sayings traditionally attributed to Muhammad] and the commentaries of the Qur'an, to purify them.
2. Subject to analysis the political-religious vocabulary of Islam, for example the gizah [the special tax required from the dhimmi, the non-Muslim minorities subjected to limitations].
3. Find a new practice of the concept of interaction between the sexes.
4. Clarify the Islamic view on women and find convenient forms for marriage rights.
5. Islam is a religion of creativity.
6. Explain the Islamic concept of jihâd [inner and outer holy war], and specify norms and obligations that regulate it.
7. Stop the invasion of external religiosity and the extraneous practices that come to us from nearby countries.
8. Separate religion from the state.
9. Purify the heritage of the first centuries of Islam (Salafism), eliminating the myths and aggressions against religion.
10. Give adequate preparation to the missionary preachers, and in this field, open the doors to those who have not studied at the university of Al Azhar, according to very clear criteria.
11. Formulate the virtues common to the three revealed religions.
12. Give guidelines on Western customs, and eliminate incorrect behaviors.
13. Clarify the relationship that must exist among members of the different religions through schools, mosques, and churches.
14. Modify the presentation of the biography of the Prophet in a way adapted for the West.
15. Not keep people away from economic systems with the interdiction of dealing with banks.
16. Recognize the right of women to become president of the republic.
17. Combat sectarian claims, [emphasizing] that the flag of Islam [must be] one.
18. Invite the people to go to God through gratitude and wisdom, and not with threats.
19. Make the teaching of al-Azhar evolve.
20. Recognize the right of Christians to occupy important positions [including] the presidency of the republic.
21. Separate religious discourse from power, and reestablish its connection with the needs of society.
22. Improve the connection between the da'wah [the call to conversion to Islam] and modern technology, the satellite channels and the market for Islamic recordings.
These 22 points are followed by an equal number of paragraphs of commentary. Which, in Fr. Samir's judgment, give a glimpse of a real and proper revolution with respect to the traditionalist and puritanical ways of living Islam recently introduced into Egypt, above all by Saudi Arabia.
The signal given by this document is a small one. But it must not be overlooked. When these issues were discussed previously - as has been done a number of times – in talks between representatives of the Catholic Church and of Islam, they were never picked up and spread in Muslim public opinion.
This document from Cairo, on the other hand, was born in the Muslim camp and has immediately spread to a wider circuit of opinion. It is getting a lot of comments on the various websites, most of them in disagreement and hostile, but still proof of interest in discussing the issue.
If one looks at what Benedict XVI has said – in the same year as the lecture in Regensburg and the voyage to Turkey – about the future of Islam, this document from Cairo marks a small step in the very direction hoped for by the pope.
