It is no secret that the quality of education, foreign languages in particular, in governmental Azharite schools has been quite questionable. Calls have been voiced for several years for the upgrading of these school leavers' language skills and even of those who pursue higher Islamic studies at Al-Azhar University. The need to raise the ability of these potential clerics and scholars to communicate with non-Arabic speakers was heightened in the wake of the 9/11 events and the ensuing stereotypical image of Muslims as terrorists. The inauguration, two years ago, of an English language study centre in Cairo to enrol Al-Azhar students of Islamic studies, who are taught by native English-speaking staff, has been an avant-garde step. The graduation of the first batch of students well versed in both theology and language this year has opened new vistas for a novel kind of enlightened dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims. We dare say that Egyptian society itself is today in need of such graduates advocating the true "moderate" Islam in order to redress erroneous and extremist concepts propagated among the community of Muslims at large. Credit goes in this respect to the incumbent Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayyeb, who was the president of Al-Azhar University when the centre was established. He was deeply convinced of the feasibility of this venture, despite attacks made against the claimed westernised tendency of Al-Azhar. As a man of religion who was himself a PhD researcher at the prestigious Sorbonne in Paris, el-Tayyeb is expected, in close co-operation with the Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, another enlightened scholar, to present a balanced picture of Islamic teachings and thought. Education is the ideal starting point towards achieving this objective. Accordingly, el-Tayyeb should therefore be encouraged to sustain his ambitious plan for Azharite education, beginning at the primary school up until secondary and university stages.
