Former Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosny: Everything Illogical Should Be Removed from Our Religious Discourse

Former Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouk Hosny said in a TV interview that the religious discourse was in need to reform. "When you read the Bukhari compilation and some of the Prophet's hadiths, you find things that are difficult to accept," he said, calling to remove everything that was illogical. Hosny was speaking on the Egyptian Mehwar TV channel on August 10, 2017.

Farouk Hosny: "What does the renewal of our religious discourse mean? It means removing everything that is illogical from it, and leaving the things that are in keeping with the time in which we live. Religion is important for everybody on Earth. Faith is essential to every human being. Even somebody who does not believe in anything – at the end of the day, he has a conscience that guides him. Ultimately, Allah is a constant to whom we all need to turn."

Host: "True."

Farouk Hosny: "So when we talk today about development of the religious discourse... We should be talking about reforming the discourse, not developing it."

Host: "Reforming it..."

Farouk Hosny: "Yes. There are things you can say and things you can't say. In our history we have books like Bukhari..."

Host: "Could you give me an example of something that needs reform?"

Farouk Hosny: "When you read the Bukhari compilation and some of the Prophet's hadiths, you find some things that are difficult to accept..."

Host: "Illogical things."

Farouk Hosny: "That's right. All these things must be removed."