While much of the world is focused on the news of Pope Benedict XVI’s announced resignation and eventual succession, another major change for institutional religion was underway in Egypt, where the Grand Mufti, one of Sunni Islam’s most influential positions, has been selected.
Clerics from Al-Azhar University, the Muslim world’s preeminent religious institution, have announced the election of Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim as Egypt’s new Grand Mufti. President Mohammed Morsi still must ratify the decision, which marks the first time the position has been filled through clerical election, rather than presidential appointment (the rules were changed in the aftermath of Egypt’s 2011 revolution). Abdel-Karim, a professor of comparative jurisprudence known for his writing on the political rights of women and the validity of predetermining a fetus’ sex, will succeed outgoing Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, a political moderate.
The Grand Mufti, in addition to his legal responsibilities — such as the declaration of religious holidays and the ratification of death sentences — has always played a powerful role in the social and political spheres in Egypt. The religious edicts — the fatwas - issued by the Mufti shape public discourse and lend weight to certain points of view. Ali Gomaa’s strong stance against female genital mutilation, for instance, helped to legitimize initiatives against the practice in the region. However, in the wake of Egypt’s November 2012 constitutional referendum, which controversially gave Al-Azhar the authority to review draft laws to assure their compliance with religious law, the office of the Mufti is more significant than ever.
The selection of Abdel-Karim, who is considered apolitical and is currently unaffiliated with any specific theological sect, came as a surprise to those closely watching the election: the Muslim Brotherhood-supported contender, Abdul Rahman al-Bar, a prominent cleric and 30-year veteran of the group, was widely expected to be voted in. The move by the clerical committee demonstrates the continued institutional independence of Al-Azhar from Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government. The president has been widely criticized in recent months for attempting to monopolize power by co-opting various governmental bodies and institutions; Al-Azhar, the bastion of orthodox Sunni Islam, has long viewed political Islamic groups, such as the Brotherhood, with suspicion for their perceived radicalism. The election of a Brotherhood candidate to the post of Mufti would have been a significant symbolic and political coup for Morsi. As protests raged around the country against Morsi’s government on the anniversary of former President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation, Al-Azhar’s selection of its next Mufti is a very public, albeit less spectacular, reminder to the administration of the limitations of its reach. Without Al-Azhar visibly in his corner, Morsi’s Islamist policies will lack a major stamp of legitimacy.
And not just at home. As the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar proved last week in his heavily-publicized rebuke of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the historic institution’s views on current regional affairs also resonate far beyond Egypt. Which means that, should Morsi appear to be at odds with Al-Azhar (as he clearly was in the case of Ahmadinejad’s visit), it could well compromise his regional leadership. A fitting irony, indeed that Egypt’s institutionalized, traditional Islamic bodies hold serious power to counter a new wave political Islam.
