In an interview with the editors-in-chief of three state-owned newspapers on 18 May President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi said the war against terrorism must include an intellectual and cultural dimension to help correct distorted interpretations of Islam. Al-Sisi used the interview to announce that a Supreme Council for Combating Terrorism and Extremism will be formed and mandated to develop a comprehensive long-term counter-terrorist strategy. “The council will be responsible for reforming religious discourse and fighting extremist ideas in a systematic way as well as drying up the sources of the terrorists' funding,” said Al-Sisi. The idea of the council was first mooted in the wake of the 9 April bomb attacks on churches in Tanta and Alexandria which left 45 dead and more than 100 injured. In the immediate aftermath Al-Sisi declared a nationwide state of emergency for three months. In the interview Al-Sisi revealed that the cabinet has held three meetings to discuss the formation and mandate of the council. “A law regulating its activities is currently being drafted and council members are being selected,” said Al-Sisi. The emergency law, he said, has been effective in safeguarding the country to the extent that terrorism is no longer a threat to the state, “but we still have the problem of extremist and radical Islamist ideology”. “The Supreme Council for Combating Terrorism and Extremism will be tasked with fighting such ideology in a systematic way. Its recommendations will be binding on state authorities.” The council will work in coordination with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and Al-Azhar. “The three forums will coordinate together to defeat radical Islamist ideology on all fronts, especially the cultural,” said Al-Sisi. Speaking at the Islamic-US Summit in Riyadh on 21 May Al-Sisi said: “You probably recall that two years ago I proposed an initiative to reform religious discourse that would lead to a comprehensive cultural and religious revolution focused on illustrating the true essence of tolerant Islam and confronting attempts to hijack this religion and distort its teachings in a way that justifies terrorist crimes.” Presidential Spokesman Alaa Youssef told reporters this week that Al-Sisi's decision to form the new council was not only motivated by the 9 April bomb attacks. “Since he came to office three years ago President Al-Sisi has been calling on Al-Azhar to play a cardinal role in reforming religious discourse,” said Youssef. “Following the terrorist attacks on two churches, and after the fight against terrorist organisations in North Sinai left hundreds of police and soldiers dead, President Al-Sisi decided in a meeting with the National Defence Council that a new body should be created to implement a counter-extremist strategy in a systematic and coordinated way.” Youssef said membership of the council would not be limited to security experts and Azharite clerics. “It will include enlightened intellectuals, public figures, cabinet ministers, university professors, judges and the heads of different state authorities, grouped in different sub-committees, each entrusted with implementing a specific task.” “There will be a sub-committee charged with analysing radical Islamist ideology, another to gather information on Islamist terrorist organisations, one to protect minorities, a fourth to develop security and cultural strategies to combat extremist ideas.” “Experts from all sectors of society will work together towards one goal, safeguarding Egypt against terrorism and exposing the dangers of radical Islamist ideology.” Kamal Amer, head of parliament's National Security and Defence Committee, told Al-Ahram Weekly legislation governing the new council has not yet reached parliament though MPs “will soon discuss detailed amendments of the criminal procedures law which will help speed up trials of individuals accused of planning and mounting terrorist attacks”. Amer argued that the new council should primarily target the Muslim Brotherhood. “This is the movement which re-invented radical jihadist ideology and is responsible for the spread of this venomous ideology around the world.” Independent MP Mohamed Abu Hamed told the Weekly Al-Sisi's decision to form the new Supreme Council for Combating Terrorism and Extremism came after he lost hope that Al-Azhar could lead the necessary religious reforms. “When President Al-Sisi called for a religious and cultural revolution two years ago he thought Al-Azhar would take the lead. Two years later it is clear Al-Azhar cannot shoulder this responsibility alone,” said Abu Hamed. Nabil Abdel-Fattah, a political and religious analyst at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, agrees that Al-Azhar has not done enough to reform religious discourse. “Intellectuals and public figures should join the campaign against radical Islamist ideology. The deep-seated religious conservatism of Azharite clerics leaves them unable to reform religious discourse. An Al-Azhar cleric issued a fatwa against Copts last week, showing that some Al-Azhar scholars are not so different from the Muslim Brotherhood or Islamic State extremists.” Abdel-Fattah believes a major task facing the Supreme Council for Fighting Terrorism and Extremism will be to overhaul the religious curricula of Al-Azhar University, its associated institutes and schools. “The existing curricula explain how the institution became prey to domination by the Muslim Brotherhood and why most violent attacks since 30 June 2013 have been perpetrated by graduates of Al-Azhar University,” says Abu Hamed. Minister of Religious Endowments Mokhtar Gomaa told MPs last week that media attacks against Al-Azhar should stop. “Al-Azhar, in collaboration with the Ministry of Religious Endowments, has done a lot in recent years to reform religious discourse,” said Gomma. “We have issued many statements in response to jihadist ideology and currently we are coordinating to prevent the issuing of irresponsible fatwas by unlicensed preachers.”
