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Egypt’s Grand Mufti to Asharq Al-Awsat: Religious Discourse in Saudi Arabia Keeps Up with the Times

Shawki Allam, Grand Mufti of Egypt (Egypt's Dar Al Ifta)
Shawki Allam, Grand Mufti of Egypt (Egypt's Dar Al Ifta)
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Egypt’s Grand Mufti to Asharq Al-Awsat: Religious Discourse in Saudi Arabia Keeps Up with the Times

Shawki Allam, Grand Mufti of Egypt (Egypt's Dar Al Ifta)
Shawki Allam, Grand Mufti of Egypt (Egypt's Dar Al Ifta)

Grand Mufti of Egypt Shawki Allam has affirmed that “religious discourse in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is characterized by a set of qualities that fit the era.”

According to Allam, Saudi Arabia is offering solutions to everything that concerns modern-day Muslims in the matter of their religion.

“Religious discourse in the Kingdom is characterized by moderation,” Allam told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that “it addresses everyone, and is not limited to Muslims.”

“It also calls for optimism, action, and rejection of laziness and frustration,” added Allam.

In exclusive statements to Asharq Al-Awsat, Allam talked about Saudi efforts to confront “extremist ideology.”

“The Kingdom realized the danger of (extremist thought) at an early stage, so it adopted the method of monitoring, research and study to reach methods of prevention and treatment,” explained Allam, adding that “Saudi Arabia had (adjusted) the fatwa discourse and updated its tools to keep pace with technological development.”

“Saudi Arabia has confronted (terrorism) and (extremist ideology) and has taken a number of measures to communicate with youth to spread proper ideas and confront the danger of their polarization.”

“At the same time, the Kingdom worked on spreading moderate and enlightened thought, rejecting ideas of (violence and extremism) about religion,” added Allam.

Commenting on Saudi efforts to renew religious thought, Allam stressed that “the Kingdom responded to the requirements of the times with moderate discourse.”

“It also took into account the stage the nation is going through to refute the arguments of extremists.”

Allam also noted that Saudi Arabia is confronting the attack on religious constants.

On the compatibility of religious discourse in Saudi Arabia with the modern age, the Grand Mufti of Egypt affirmed that “extremism is not of the nature of a true, tolerant and open-minded Muslim, nor of the characteristics of Saudi Arabia as an Islamic nation in any case.”

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Israel’s Retaliatory Responses to Houthis Must Begin by Drawing Intelligence Plan

A person inspects damage at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024 (EPA)
A person inspects damage at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024 (EPA)
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Israel’s Retaliatory Responses to Houthis Must Begin by Drawing Intelligence Plan

A person inspects damage at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024 (EPA)
A person inspects damage at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024 (EPA)

Israel is considering options to respond to repeated attacks fired from Yemen in the past few days, the latest of which was a Houthi missile strike that injured more than a dozen people in Tel Aviv.
But military experts say Israel should first consider an intelligence plan for confronting the new front after it faced significant difficulties in both defending against and responding to the Houthi attacks.
On Saturday morning, Houthis launched a missile that triggered sirens throughout central Israel at 3:44 am. It was the second attack since Thursday.
Israel's military said the projectile landed in Tel Aviv's southern Jaffa area, adding that attempts to intercept a missile from Yemen failed.
“The incident is still being thoroughly investigated,” the army said, adding that following initial investigations by the Israeli Air Force and Home Front Command, “some of the conclusions have already been implemented, both regarding interception and early warning.”
Israeli military experts say the recent Houthi attacks have revealed serious security gaps in Israel's air defense systems.
“The pressing question now is why none of the other of Israel’s air defense layers managed to intercept the warhead,” wrote Yedioth Ahronoth's Ron Ben-Yishai. “The likely explanation is the late detection and the flat trajectory, which prevented the operation of all available defense apparatus.”
He said these incidents might expose a critical vulnerability in the army’s air defense system protecting Israel’s civilian and military home front.
According to Ben-Yishai, two main reasons might explain Saturday’s interception failure.
The first is that the missile was launched in a “flattened” ballistic trajectory, possibly from an unexpected direction.
As a result, Israeli defenses may not have identified it in time, leading to its late discovery and insufficient time for interceptors to operate.
He said the second, and more likely scenario is that Iran has developed a maneuverable warhead.
Such a warhead separates from the missile during the final third of its trajectory and maneuvers mid-flight—executing pre-programmed course changes—to hit its designated target, he wrote.
And while Israel has launched initial investigations into the failure of Israeli defense systems to intercept the missiles, it is now examining the nature, date and location of its response.
When Houthis launched their first missile attack on Israel last Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned them, saying, “The Houthis will learn the hard way.”
But Israeli political analyst Avi Ashkenazi wrote in the Maariv newspaper that Israel should look at reality with open eyes and say out loud that it cannot deal with the Houthi threat from Yemen, and has failed to face them.
Last Thursday, 14 Israeli Air Force fighter jets, alongside refuelers and spy planes, flew some 2,000 kilometers and dropped over 60 munitions on Houthi “military targets” along Yemen’s western coast and near the capital Sanaa.
The targets included fuel and oil depots, two power stations, and eight tugboats used at the Houthi-controlled ports.
But the Maariv newspaper warned about the increasing involvement of Iran in supporting the Houthi forces.
“Iran has invested more in the Houthis in recent weeks following the collapse of the Shiite axis, making the Houthi movement a leader of this axis,” the newspaper noted.
Underscoring the failures of Israel’s air defense systems, Maariv said the “Arrow” missile defense system, Israel's main line of defense against ballistic missiles, had failed four times in a row to intercept missiles, including three launched from Yemen and one from Lebanon.
Yedioth Ahronoth's Ben-Yishai also warned that the threat posed by maneuvering warheads on Iran's heavy, long-range missiles would become existential for Israel should Iran succeed in developing nuclear warheads for these missiles.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Channel 12 said that in recent months, the Middle East has changed beyond recognition.
The channel said that for the first time in more than half a century, a direct and threat-free air corridor has been opened to Iran through the Middle East. Israel will benefit from this corridor to launch almost daily attacks on the border crossings between Syria and Lebanon, it said.
Channel 12 also reported that according to the Israeli military, the new threat-free corridor will help Israel launch a future attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
“From Israel's perspective, the fall of the Assad regime and the collapse of the Iranian ring of fire are changing the balance of power in the Middle East,” the report added.