During the past 50 years of our history, the state of affairs in Egypt aggravated due to a despotic propensity that marked the prevalent way of thinking, doubled with the absence of national spirit and sane social development, writes Grand Shaykh of the Azhar Dr. Ahmad al-Tayīb in an opinion article in al-Sīyāsī magazine.

With the exception of a period of military triumph over our enemies, Egypt has fallen prey to repression, social disintegration, rampant corruption, deterioration of Egypt’s regional standing and incessant attrition of the national economy, augmenting public disgruntlement and further complicating socio-cultural affairs.

The Azhar, whose role has grown frail over the years as a result of these developments and accordingly some hard-line groups and ideologies alien to the nature of the Egyptian society have popped up, had to take a firm stand out of its responsibility.

After the eruption of the blessed revolution, the Azhar called on all Islamic factions in a bid to bring their liberal and secularist brothers in the nation to meet halfway.

In this frenzied atmosphere, the Azhar Document has seen the light of day in order to protect the shape of our aspired nation and its relationship with Islam on a national ground of a modern constitutional democracy that is based on separation of powers and the free will of the people and establishment of equality among all citizens regardless of sex, religion, origin or any other consideration.

The Document has called for supporting the independence of the Azhar so as to help it shoulder its religious and scholarly message through cooperation between the top Sunni institution and intellectuals to turn this paper into a national culture nourishing the Egyptian conscience. [Ahmad al-Tayīb, al-Sīyāsī, July 26, p. 63] Read original text in Arabic