Egypt’s Dar Al-Ifta: It's Everyone's Responsibility to Renew Religious Discourse

Egyptian Grand Mufti Shawki Allam. Reuters
Egyptian Grand Mufti Shawki Allam. Reuters
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Egypt’s Dar Al-Ifta: It's Everyone's Responsibility to Renew Religious Discourse

Egyptian Grand Mufti Shawki Allam. Reuters
Egyptian Grand Mufti Shawki Allam. Reuters

Egypt's Dar al-Ifta has asserted that the renewal of religious discourse isn’t restricted to religious institutions in the country, stressing that it is everyone's responsibility.

Egyptian Grand Mufti Shawki Allam highlighted Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi call to renew religious discourse in 2014, saying it was an invitation to address contemporary issues.

Sisi stressed during the celebration of the birth of the Prophet last month that awareness and a correct understanding of religion is among the top priorities of the current stage.

Also, during the conference dubbed “Al-Azhar International Conference on Renovation of Islamic Thought”, the Egyptian president warned that procrastination over the issue would give the opportunity to those who claim knowledge to brainwash youth into adopting wrong religious beliefs and misconceptions.

A wise religious speech nourishes good qualities in people unlike hate speeches that lead to crises and methodological misconceptions, Allam added.

He also underscored the scientific approach in implementing the concepts and texts of the Quran and the prophet’s teaching, calling for a rational understanding of Islam.



Israeli Forces Have Completed Encirclement of Gaza’s Rafah, Military Says

 Displaced Palestinians flee from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP)
Displaced Palestinians flee from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP)
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Israeli Forces Have Completed Encirclement of Gaza’s Rafah, Military Says

 Displaced Palestinians flee from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP)
Displaced Palestinians flee from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP)

Israeli forces have completed the encirclement of Gaza's Rafah, the military said on Saturday, part of an announced plan to seize more areas of the enclave, accompanied by large-scale evacuations of the population.

The military has issued repeated evacuation warnings to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians across Rafah since it resumed operations in Gaza on March 18, forcing them into a diminishing space limited by the sea.

Israel said on April 2 that troops had begun seizing an area it called the Morag Axis, a reference to a former Israeli settlement once located between the cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have since fled Rafah, a 60 square km area that borders Egypt to the south.

"Over the past 24 hours, the 36th Division's troops completed the establishment of the Morag route, separating Rafah and Khan Younis," the military said on Saturday.

The Israeli offensive in Gaza was launched after Palestinian group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have since been killed in the offensive, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the population has been displaced and much of Gaza is in ruins.

Israel restarted the offensive in March after effectively abandoning a ceasefire in place since January. The campaign will continue, it says, until the remaining 59 hostages are freed and Hamas is stamped out of Gaza.

Hamas says it will free hostages only as part of a deal that will end the war and has rejected demands to lay down its arms. A Hamas delegation was expected in Cairo over the weekend to discuss new truce proposals, according to a source in the group.