Waqfs Minister: Sound Islamic thought rejects extremism

Sound Islamic thought does not accept the logic and violence or dictations for political purposes, said Egypt's Minister of Waqfs (Religious Endowments).

Addressing an international intellectual conference on Islamic philosophy in Cairo on Wednesday, Mahmoud Hamdi Zaqzouq said that real Islam endorses only moderate thinking which maintains balance in the society.

Scholars and clerics from 15 Arab and Islamic countries took part in the conference held under the title "Methods of Islamic Sciences between Imitation and Innovation."

Zaqzouq noted that Islamic thought and independent judgment (ijtihad) have to be reconsidered to develop this thought and simultaneously takes into account the changes with their impact on "our intellectual and practical lives."

The Minister called on the Islamic nation to keep pace with the modern age inventions in a bid to restore the nations' old glory.

Egypt's Mufti Ali Gomaa, on his part, urged Muslim ulema (scholars) to focus on the contemporary causes of Islam and find out the proper formula by which Muslims can live the age with its developments together with following God's road.

He stressed that Islam was adaptable to any time and any place.

The conference is organized annually by the Faculty of Darul Olourn, Cairo University.