In Egypt the Sisi regime's campaign against "religious extremism" has claimed another victim. On Saturday, TV presenter Islam El-Beheiry was sentenced to five years in jail on blasphemy charges.

The court case followed a complaint from al-Azhar that his show, broadcast on a private TV channel, made people "question what is certain in religion". 

Beheiry's show, "With Islam", was suspended in April. It had previously challenged conservative religious teaching on early marriage, punishment for apostasy, and the validity of the hadith – sayings and traditions attributed to the Prophet.

In doing so, Beheiry clashed with al-Azhar – Egypt's highest religious authority – which Sisi is relying on to promote a "moderate" version of Islam and thus counter the Muslim Brotherhood.

In a blog post about the affair, Nervana Mahmoud comments:

"Islam Beheiry may be feckless, even inaccurate in some of his attacks on Islamic theology, but the essence of his argument is sound and it actually portrays Islam in a far more modern way than all the medievalist nonsense that the likes of [Salafi scholar] Mohamed al-Masry propagate. The irony is that al-Azhar tolerates scholars like al-Masry (who studied theology extensively in Saudi Arabia, as his website claims) more than a daring researcher like Islam Beheiry, whom al-Azhar sees as 'insulting' to Islam.

"Al-Qaherah wal-Nas TV has justified its decision to cancel Beheiry’s show by saying, 'Freedom of thought and expression are constitutional rights for all citizens. However, protecting the country’s best interests is a greater goal.' Sadly, such actions will not protect Egypt; they will only allow regression, myths, and medievalism to spread in society. Contentious religious debate, not protectionism, is the only way forward in dealing with the various challenges facing Islam in the modern era."

President Sisi has declared his intention to "reform" Islam, but by authoritarian means. In an apparent reference to Beheiry, Sisi insisted "religious reforms" must come through state institutions and from qualified scholars. There are two particular problems with this approach. One is that putting al-Azhar and traditional scholars in charge of "reform" inevitably limits the scope of the debate, to the exclusion of more radical independent voices. In the run, it is also likely to discredit al-Azhar's style of "moderate" Islam by associating it with repressive military dictatorship.
 
   
Posted by Brian Whitaker
Monday, 1 June 2015