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Following the April 9 attacks on two Coptic churches in Egypt, researcher Ahmad Abdou Maher issued an impassioned plea to hold Al-Azhar accountable for its teachings of "depraved and criminal jurisprudence." "Al-Azhar has been taken over by Salafism and Wahhabism," said Maher, who warned about its books' anti-Christian and anti-Jewish teachings. "Why don't they teach about Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, the greatest discovery ever?" he asked in the interview, which aired on Mayadeen TV on April 13.
Ahmad Abdou Maher: "The truth is that we have been afflicted with people who think that the Lord has guided no one but them. These are the people of Al-Azhar. For five years, until 2015, I fought them to replace the heritage books, which are filled, loaded, and even booby-trapped, with destruction, and with the killings of others, especially the Christians and the Jews. But it was all to no avail."
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"All these books strive to spread depraved jurisprudence, or criminal jurisprudence, manifest three days ago (in the bombing of churches in Egypt). Brother, we are in crisis, caused by Sheikh of Al-Azhar and his men."
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"Is Sheikh of Al-Azhar really a 'symbol of Islam?' Does Islam have any symbol other than the holy Quran? Does Islam have any god other than Allah? How come that man does not resign? Brother, Al-Azhar does not want to cleanse the Muslim compilation of the Hadith, where it is said that Muslims must not greet Jews and Christians, and that if they meet them on the road, they must force them to its narrowest alley. The same thing is said in the Bukhari compilation of the Hadith. In the Muslim compilation, it is said that on Judgement Day, a Christian and a Jew would be brought for every Muslim, and Allah would tell him: 'These two will spare you the Hellfire.' Is this something a god says?! Do the Al-Azhar people really worship Allah?! Or maybe they worship some other god..."
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"This culture instills the jurisprudence of hatred and malice. Such a culture does not spring up overnight. Our president and the Egyptian security agencies should be alert to this culture. In the General Intelligence Service, they should read these books, so that they know what catastrophes appear in them, affecting security. Imagine what would happen if the Christians acted like the Muslims. 92 million Egyptians would find themselves in a civil war. This must be taken seriously and dealt with severely and forcefully. Any person - any creature - who believes that he is preaching the religion of Allah through this nonsense and this deformed jurisprudence must be removed from office."
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"The sad truth is that the government has left all matters of Islam in the hands of Al-Azhar, and Al-Azhar has been taken over by Salafism and Wahhabism. Brother, you may refer to the Saudi kingdom and its blood-soaked Wahhabi jurisprudence. That kingdom shatters everything around it. It practices its own private religion, which it calls 'Islam,' but which has nothing to do with Islam."
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"Can you believe that in our country, where we profess to believe in the Torah, the New Testament, and the Quran, Al-Azhar teaches this book, which says that it is permissible to wipe your bottom with pages torn from the Torah or the New Testament?! It is right here, on page 73. This filth, this vile jurisprudence, is taught to our sons at Al-Azhar, and then you wonder why we are the way we are? The state is snowballing with Wahhabism, and it no longer knows where its core is. The core is gone, and Salafism has completely taken over. The state must give the intellectuals and enlightened researchers a chance. Stop fighting the reforms. Stop spreading rumors that we have Colonialist agendas and that we are striving to destroy Islam. What religion do they believe in? One that kills apostates, kills people who do not pray, kills theological dissidents, kills Jews, kills Christians, kills everybody? Does Allah give life to people just so that this bunch will kill them?! Does Allah send killers to wage Jihad for His cause?! Is Jihad for the sake of Allah waged by killers and suicide bombers?! Brother, true Islam has disappeared from our country. We have been following Wahhabi Islam, which was fought against by the great Muhammad Ali Pasha."
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"The officers (who monitor these books) should be held accountable. The Minister of the Interior should be held accountable. Sheikh of Al-Azhar should be held accountable, as should anyone spreading tales of knights with weapons and helmets. Why don't they teach, for example, about Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, the greatest discovery ever?"
Host: "Right."
Maher:"He is the kind of hero who should be our role model. (They don't teach about him) because he was a Christian?! Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in mold, and this has become the icon of science to this day. How come there isn't a book with his name?! Do we want people to learn or do we want to turn them into hooligans? These knights will become belligerent hooligans. Do we understand anything at all about education? We need to awaken from our slumber. We need to get rid of Saudi Arabia and its jurisprudence."
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