Egypt denies any pressures to change religious discourse

"Egypt has never been asked to change its religious discourse and if asked it would have rejected such call," said the Minister of Waqfs (Religious Endowments).

In statements to the Saudi "Al-Watan" Daily, published on Wednesday, Mahmoud Zaqzouq dubbed claims that Egypt has been subject to US pressures in the aftermath of the September attacks in 2001 as absolutely untrue and groundless.

The ministry has undertaken the development and modernization process in order to catch up with the spirit of the age and unite the nation, he said.

A plenary seminar held in 2001 addressed the shortcomings in the religious discourse said Zaqzouq, adding that a large number of Islamic scholars and ulemas took part in this gathering.

"Muslims are now in dire need of a religious discourse that would unite them, help them surmount their historical differences and bury them," he said.

He criticized the current religious rhetoric, noting that it needs to be reconsidered as far as its content and style were concerned.

"The current rhetoric focuses rather on the form and does not phathom the real depths of the faith and its sublime goals," he said.

He denied that his ministry hands out the Friday sermons to the imams, adding that it rather outlines general frames and recommends objective and realistic address.