Sayyid al-Qimni
| Sayyid Al-Qemany | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 13, 1947 Beni Suef, Egypt |
| Occupation | Academic writer, thinker |
| Nationality | Egypt |
| Education | Bachelor in philosophy |
Sayyid Al-Qemany (Arabic: سيد محمد القمني (also al-Qimni) born March 13, 1947 in Beni Suef) is an Egyptian secular writer and thinker. His works emphasize the importance of critical thinking, and he is an opponent of Islamic fundamentalism, supporting separation of religion and state, and tolerance. In 2009, he won the Egyptian Culture Ministry's prize for achievement in the social sciences, a cash award of 200,000 Egyptian pounds (about $US36,000). A judicial and media campaign was launched calling for the prize to be withdrawn by those who claimed Al-Qemany was a heretic who has harmed Islam and Muslims with his writings.
Al-Qemany views the Koran as more than religious scripture and contends that it is legitimate to study it from a historical perspective using the same scientific tools and criteria that are employed for other disciplines.
Former Egyptian mufti Nasr Farid Wasilo called the decision to award Al-Qimni the prize "a crime against Egypt's Muslim identity." The Islamic association Jabhat 'Ulama Al-Azhar stated that Al-Qimni "has openly blasphemed in a manner that does not lend itself to [any other] interpretation." The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya also attacked Sayyed Al-QimniDar Al-Ifta, Egypt's official fatwa-issuing body, headed by Chief Mufti Dr. 'Ali Gomaa issued a fatwa stating in part:
"The Muslims [believe] unanimously that whoever curses the Prophet or slanders Islam removes himself from the fold of Islam and [from the community] of Muslims, and deserves punishment in this world and torment in the world to come... The statements [from Al-Qimni's writings] quoted by the [individual] who requested the fatwa are heretical, regardless of who wrote them; they remove their author from the fold of Islam... and [also] constitute a crime according to Article 98 of [Egypt's] penal code. If these depraved, loathsome, and invalid statements were indeed made by a specific individual, then this individual should be convicted rather than awarded a prize, and punished to the full extent of the law..."
Shiekh Youssef Al Badri accused him of "deconstructing Islam using eloquent sugar-coated attacks [...] more fatal than Salman Rushdie". Al-Qemany replied that Badri was accusing him of atheism. "Islamic scholars do not want the Muslim to use his God-given brain! They want a submissive and obedient Muslim who refers to them in the slightest details of his life."
...
Wikipedia