by Raymond Ibrahim<\/p>\n
PJ Media<\/em><\/p>\n To what extent was Egypt’s\u00a0Maspero massacre<\/a>, wherein the military\u00a0literally mowed down<\/a>\u00a0Christian Copts protesting the ongoing destruction of their churches, a product of anti-Christian sentiment?<\/p>\n A video of Egypt’s Grand Mufti,\u00a0Sheikh Ali Gomaa<\/a>\u00a0(or Gom’a), which began circulating weeks before the massacre, helps elucidate. While holding that Muslims may coexist with Christians (who, as\u00a0dhimmis<\/em>, have rights), Gomaa categorized Christians as\u00a0kuffar<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 “infidels<\/a>” \u2014 a word that connotes “enemies,” “evil-doers,” and every bad thing to Muslim ears.<\/p>\n After quoting Quran 5:17, “Infidels are those who declare God is the Christ, [Jesus] son of Mary,” he expounded by saying any association between a human and God (in Arabic,\u00a0shirk<\/em>) is the greatest sin: “Whoever thinks the Christ is God, or the Son of God, not symbolically \u2014 for we are all sons of God \u2014 but attributively, has rejected the faith which God requires for salvation,” thereby becoming an infidel.<\/p>\n Gomaa then offered a hypothetical dialogue between Christians and Muslims to illustrate Islam’s proper position:<\/p>\n Christians<\/em>: You have the wrong idea about us; we don’t worship the Christ.<\/p>\n Muslims<\/em>: Okay, fine; we were under the wrong impression \u2014 but,by the way<\/em>: “Infidels are those who declare God is the Christ, son of Mary.”<\/p>\n Christians<\/em>: But these are philosophical matters that we are unable to explain.<\/p>\n Muslims<\/em>: Okay, fine; God is one \u2014 but,\u00a0by the way<\/em>: “Infidels are those who declare God is the Christ, son of Mary.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As a graduate of and long-time professor at Al Azhar university and Grand Mufti of Egypt (a position second in authority only to Sheikh Al Azhar), Ali Gomaa represents mainstream Islam’s \u2014 not “radical Islam’s” or “Islamism’s” \u2014 position concerning the “other,” in this case, Christians. Regardless, many in the West hail him as a “moderate” \u2014 such as this\u00a0US News<\/em>\u00a0article titled “Finding the Voices of Moderate Islam<\/a>“;\u00a0Lawrence Wright<\/a>\u00a0describes him as “a highly promoted champion of moderate Islam”:<\/p>\n He is the kind of cleric the West longs for, because of his assurances that there is no conflict with democratic rule and no need for theocracy. Gomaa has also become an advocate for Muslim women, who he says should have equal standing with men.<\/p>\n How does one reconcile such sunny characterizations with reality? The fact is, whenever top Muslim authorities like Gomaa say something that can be made to conform to Western ideals, Westerners jump on it (while of course ignoring their more “extreme” positions). It is the same with Gomaa’s\u00a0alma mater<\/em>,\u00a0Al Azhar<\/a>, the “chief center of Islamic and Arabic learning in the world.”<\/p>\n MEMRI<\/a>, for instance, recently published a report titled “The Sheikh of Al Azhar in an Exceptionally Tolerant Article: Christianity, Judaism Share Basic Tenets of Islam.” Of course, the\u00a0day after<\/a>\u00a0this report appeared, this same sheikh \u2014 Islam’s most authoritative figure \u2014 insisted that the\u00a0American ambassador wear a hijab<\/a>\u00a0when meeting him: just as Muslim “radicals”\u00a0compel Christian girls<\/a>\u00a0to wear the hijab, “moderate” Al Azhar compels US diplomats.<\/p>\n In short, yes, many religions “share basic tenets,” but they are secondary to the differences, which are more final and define the relationship. Or, to put it in Ali Gomaa’s paradigm: Fine, Christianity and Islam have commonalities \u2014 but,\u00a0by the way<\/em>: “Infidels are those who declare God is the Christ, son of Mary.”<\/p>\n The fact is, this Quranic verse is as much a cornerstone of Islam’s view of Christianity as the unity of God and Christ is a cornerstone of Christianity, articulated some 1700 years ago in the Nicene Creed. The issue is clear cut for all involved.<\/p>\n Accordingly, how can one fault Gomaa? As Grand Mufti, he is simply being true to Islam’s teachings. Indeed, his consistency is more commendable than the equivocations of Western ecumencalists who, by falling over themselves to assure Muslims that they all essentially believe in the same things, demonstrate, especially to Muslims, that they believe in nothing.<\/p>\n