On 8 June 1992 an Islamist group known as al-Jama’at
al-Islamiyyat gunned Dr. Farag Foda down. They entered his office in Cairo
to execute a death sentence for blasphemy that was issued against him, by a group of teachers
at al-Azhar University. The terrorists argument was that since the government had not done
its duty, it was their responsibility to apply the Shari'ah Law against Dr.
Foda.
Reading Elaph's 2008 article commemorating the assassination of Dr. Foda (see a summary below) it is painful to note how all of Foda’s thoughts and questions are still very relevant today. Foda was vilified and many so-called liberals abandoned him during his life and till today are scared from being associated with his memory.
Reading Elaph's 2008 article commemorating the assassination of Dr. Foda (see a summary below) it is painful to note how all of Foda’s thoughts and questions are still very relevant today. Foda was vilified and many so-called liberals abandoned him during his life and till today are scared from being associated with his memory.
"The 8th of June reminds us of the assassination of Dr. Farag Foda. He was murdered for his liberal thoughts, and his endeavors to enlighten his compatriots who have been led astray by the Islamist radicals. He was an outspoken advocate of civil government that separates religion from politics, and a leader for Egyptian national unity under the well- known banner of "Al-Deenu li-Lahi, wal watanu l'l Jamee" (Religion is to God, and the Country is for All).
"Dr. Farag Foda was assassinated on 8 June, 1992, an event that is remembered every year at the Center for Enlightenment (Al-Markaz al-Tanwiri) that he had founded. Several modernizing intellectuals join in this commemoration, calling for the liberation of religious thought from the rigidity of traditionalism.
"Here are some questions Dr. Farag Foda put forth in his book, ‘The Absent Truth among Those calling for a Religious State.'
"- We face problems of great magnitude, so how can they be resolved by the application of Shari'ah Law, since these problems did not exist in the early centuries of Islam? How would Shari'ah, for example, deal with the problems of housing, indebtedness, famine, and unemployment?
"- We seem to be excessively interested and preoccupied with matters of worship; does that relieve us from our responsibility to get involved in the great scientific and technological advancements of our times? We are equally busy with fatwas that deal with such topics as marriage, how to relieve ourselves when we happen to be in the countryside, and the like!
"- What are the benefits that come from the imposition of the hijab on Muslim women?
"- What good has come out of the practice of the so-called ‘prophetic healing' of the sick, as based on spurious Hadiths, when at the same time, we witness the astronomically growing number of the sick? And what about the latest charlatanry of those ‘experts' who claim that healing may be found in the flies' wings, as well as in the camels' urine?!
"- Near the end of his book, ‘The Absent Truth,' Farag Foda drew attention to the fact that Islam came as a religion; but Muslims are still doing a terrible thing to it. They consider those who differ from them in opinion, or who attempt to work for renewal and reform, as Kuffar (plural of Kafir)! What a wonderful thing it would have been, if tafkir (reasoning) took precedence over takfir (declaring someone to be an unbeliever!) [In Arabic, fikr means thought or reasoning, while kifr means unbelief].
The Elaph article was translated from Arabic to English by Jacob Thomas.
