Against Islamic Extremism: The Writings of Muhammad Sa`id Al-'Ashmawy

By: Fluehr-Lobban, Carolyn

Book Overview

Revised

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813025435
• ISBN13: 9780813025438
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: University Press of Florida
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

One of the few Intellectuals left from Egypt's Liberal Era

If you are familiar with the writings of Rifa‘a Rafi‘ al-Tahtawi, Muhammad ‘Abduh, Ahmad Lutfi al-Sayyid, Taha Husayn, ‘Ali ‘Abd al-Raziq, Muhammad Husayn Haykal, Kasim Amin, Tawfik Al-Hakim, Nagib Mahfuz and all the liberal intellectuals of Modern Egypt, you would definitely add the former chief justice of Egypt Supreme Court Said Al-Ashmawy to this great enlightenment movement - "tanwir". It is not fair to summarize this book or any of Ashmawy's like "History of Kilafa", "Gawhar Al-Islam", "Roots of Islamic law" or "Al-Sharia Al-Islamia", "Ma'alim Al-Islam" and "Political Islam"; you need to read them carefully. His books are meant to shock you if your Islamic teachings are limited to school books, Badawin TV shows or Friday prayer speeches. This writer has a message and he is risking his life for his ideas after a thorough research in International Law, Egyptian Constitution, Islamic Studies and Literature, Greek and Egyptian Ancient History and Philosophy. For the last 15 years, he has a body guard assigned by the Egyptian government ; So what is he trying to say? After reading his books, here are some of the issues he addresses: Islam is practiced now in Egypt more than anytime in our 1400 years History since the Kilafa of Siedna Ali and Egyptian Law applies over 95% of Islamic law while omitting women slavery, marital abuse, polygamy and raising the age of marriage, allowing women to work, travel and drive a car etc..History of Higab and the emancipation of Egyptian women by 1919, How the Egyptian Constitution is Islamic and respects Sharia? Who is the source of our new Badawin? Who is the source of our "Dual Character" of modernism and the oil-financed "neo-Wahabism"? The history of political Islam in this century and how the British tried to lead King Foaud and King Farouk (al-malik al-saleh) to be the Muslims' Kalifa ? Islam is mainly a religion of mercy and morality and has nothing to do with terrorism and social unrest? The righteous, balanced interpretation of the Quran in relation to our national identity, respect to other religions and human rights. Your identity is your nationality -so declares Islam -and so states the UN Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and how Islam differs from the Zionist-racist ideology of mixing religion and politics? Judge Ashmawy provides his scholarly opinion that Egypt applies 95% of Sharia or Islamic law in a democracy unlike any period in the 1400 years of Islamic History. After Al-Kilafa Al-Rashida no Kalifa was ever elected but it was a kingdom from Amaweeon (Umayyad) to Abbasid Caliphate to Fatimiats to the Ottoman Empire and all Kalifas ruled for life by divine right.... His message is: do not look backwards but look forward, learn, ask for knowledge and only reject from the world civilization the small portion that is not compatible with our culture, respect yourself and your culture but do not dwell on the past. If you think Egypt and most Muslim countries are non-Islamic or Jahilia - bec

A voice of truth!

Al-Ashmawy begins by explaining how the Ancient Egyptian religion was essentially monotheistic (even before Akhenaten) though there were many aspects of God. An Egyptian religious text that he quoted sounded almost exactly like it could have been an Islamic writing. He then goes on with a long list of similarities between the Ancient Egyptian religion, Judaism, and Christianity. His purpose in this discussion is to point out that since all these religions have a common thread these religions should be able to peacefully coexist. "One religion, many paths." It not a true Islamic belief to reject everyone that is not of the same exact faith, even though over the millennia religion has been one of the greatest causes for war and schism.Muhammad Said Al-Ashmawy is a former chief justice at the high court at Cairo. Even though I'm sure that some would attack his views as "modernist", he is a true Muslim and extensively cites the Qur'an to justify what he is saying.After going of the basics of Islamic history, he calls for the politics of a land to be more or less separated from the religion. There should be a civil code based on the religion and with the politics working within this code. Just because the Umma was controlled by the Caliphate in history does not mean it is the only kind of Islamic government. He shows that the Qur'an does not prohibit democracy. This is how he describes a government that will serve Islam: "This government will care about education, culture, science, art, history, literature and civilization. It will encourage cooperation, understanding, planning, constructive labor and self-sacrifice. It will understand Islam as mercy rather than a sword, amity rather than enmity. It will offer Islam to all humankind as a way to God, a method for progress and a path for mercy. This the new and true Islamic government."In the third portion of the book Al-Ashmawi goes into detail on specific laws that the Qur'an provides. He mentions repeatedly that Shari'a means "path, method, or way" and that what is called Islamic Law today is something that evolved out of Islamic jurisprudence. There are only four ayahs in the Qur'an prescribing particular punishments for crimes. He goes through and explains all the basic legal tenets and their stipulations for being used (punishments, zakat, hijab, jihad, etc). He is not trying to change the Qur'an, only to look at it from a 20th century perspective instead of a 7th century perspective. He willingly admits that not all that was done in Islamic history was perfectly done, and that the key to the future is not necessarily to look to the past. In a very well written conclusion he explains the difference between fanatical, extremist, militant beliefs and the liberal, intellectual, enlightened approach."This movement believes that everyone has the right to free speech and to express ideas and opinions the way he or she chooses. If these opinio