In a new international unprecedented press release, Egypt's Grand Mufti, Dr. Shawki Allam, publishes new article in the American Wall Street Journal, the most popular newspaper in the United States and worldwide. The article comes within the mufti's international media campaign to combat extremism, terrorism and correct the distorted image of Islam in the west.

In his article, which is the first for an Egyptian official to be published in the WSJ since January 2011 revolution, Dr. Shawky refuted the false claims of the extremists’ ideologies and disclosed their distorted interpretation of the Qur'an based on which they justify their heinous crimes.

The Grand Mufti confirmed in his article titled "Terrorists and their Quranic Delusions" that the terrorist groups who flagrantly use religion as a cloak to cover up acts of violent extremism cannot hide their serious ideological flaws. These reveal the warped logic and ill-informed and unauthentic sourcing from religious texts as they try to justify what in reality is an insatiable desire for power, control and bloodshed.

As for clearing the doubts raised by those extremists about the concept of Jihad, Dr. Shawky pointed out that the radicals narrow the concept of jihad and restrict it to combat and slaughter while claiming that such distortions represent the jihad legislated by God. Rather, he said that the truth is that jihad, in essence, is the human endeavor of striving to improve the individual and the society and to bring life closer to the divine model.

In this respect, the Grand Mufti stressed that it is completely rejected on the religious, humanitarian, or logical levels for those radicals to declare “jihad” on behalf of 1.5 billion Muslims. Simply put, the declaration of armed struggle is the prerogative of the ruler of the state or his deputy. These terrorist groups, as non-state actors, are not allowed to declare it.

In conclusion, Dr. Shawky stated it clearly that the terrorist groups have the audacity to interpret from the Quran selectively to suit their own agendas and their deviant ideology must be debunked by intellectual responses. "The fight will be stronger with the help of the international media and academia in publishing and broadcasting the voices of authentic Muslim scholars who can counter the extremists’ false claims and their warped interpretation of the Quran", he said.

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http://www.wsj.com/articles/terrorists-and-their-quranic-delusions-1428620268