The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Dr. Shawqy Allam, confirmed that by waging a fierce war to eliminate terrorism, Egypt is not only defending itself but all humanity. During a round table meeting hosted by the Diplomatic Academy, Dr. Allam stressed that all terrorist organizations and groups espouse the same toxic ideologies and must be dealt with accordingly. He added that defeating terrorism does not only mean winning land and air battles, but more importantly, ideological battles and clarifying true Islam.

Dr. Shawqy said that the excerpts from religious texts used by terrorist groups to justify their savage crimes against humanity have led to more confusions and to erroneous interpretations of the principles of Islam and have led many non-Muslims to associate the religion with violence and hostility. He confirmed that such excerpts are in the majority of cases intellectual hallucinations produced by sick minds, a misinterpretation of the Shari’ah texts and a deviation from the great history of Islam.

Dr. Allam said that Dar al-Ifta undertakes to combat radical ideologies and correct the image of Islam both inside and outside Egypt. He added that Dar al-Ifta has launched numerous campaigns to clarify the image of Islam and explain Islamic concepts and promote moderate thoughts. It has also established a department that issues fatwas in various languages.

Dr. Allam said that Dar al-Ifta has finished compiling an Islamic encyclopedia in English and French comprising more than 1000 fatwas which will be distributed to Muslim communities in Europe, US, Australia, west Africa and east Asia. He added that Dar al-Ifta sends scholarly delegations abroad to clear the distorted image of Islam.