Al Azhar university proposes legislation to bar use of religion inciting violence
June 26, 2017
The Islamic faculty of Al Azhar University has made a proposal for legislation that would counteract the use of religious rhetoric to justify violence.
Sheikh Ahmed al Tayyib, the head of Al Azhar presented the model legislation to Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al Sisi. The legislation is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Egyptian constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion. The proposal declares that violence is incompatible with authentic religious faith, and enables the Egyptian judiciary to assess penalties for those who incite violence in the name of religion.
The proposal was shaped by legal scholars at Al Azhar, in an effort to mark a clear separation between—the leading academic center of Sunni Islam—and those Islamic leaders who invoke the Qu’ran in calls for violence.
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