General Al-Sisi, Egypt’s new president, visiting al-Azhar University, argues that we must decide to reform Islam, recognizing that the problem lies not in the Quran, but in the eyes of those who read it and treat it as God himself. He says: “It is inconceivable that the doctrine we consider most sacred should cause the entire umma [the Islamic community] to be a source of anxiety, danger, killing, and destruction for the rest of the world. (…) Is it possible that 1.6 billion people can think they can survive only by eliminating the rest of the world’s seven billion inhabitants? No, it is impossible. I am speaking these words here, in al-Azhar, before this assembly of scholars and ulama. You need to step outside yourselves, so that you can observe and reflect from a more enlightened perspective. (…) We need a religious revolution. You imams are accountable to Allah. The entire world is waiting for your next step, because the umma is tearing itself apart, destroying itself, losing itself. And it is doing it with its own hands.”
