Cairo - In an interview with ‘Al-Bawaba News Portal', Dr. Shawki Allam, Grand Mufti of the Arab Republic of Egypt, addressed a whole range of issues from "renewal of religious discourse" which he maintains that, "an intra-institutional undertaking that requires cooperation and coordination of all the state institutions led by Al-Azhar and its scholars," to other heated issues germane to issuing fatwa (religious edicts) and the repercussions of alien trends on the society. Grand Mufti is the highest official of religious law in a Sunni-Muslim country. Dr. Allam also touched on the dispute over the massive intellectual literature inherited from the early bands of Muslims, whether it is still compatible or incompatible with the modern-day Muslims, and what are the concerted efforts required to sift through these early scholarships with their contested conclusions. Dr. Allam called those who demand for abolishing or dispensing with the legacy of early Muslim scholars as "callous" and "malicious" calls raised by ill-informed groups.
