Al-Azhar sets up religious kiosk to counter militancy

CAIRO: Two elderly shaikhs have set up shop at a kiosk in one of Cairo’s busiest underground stations, ready to dole out religious advice to commuters queueing outside.

It is the latest attempt by Al-Azhar university to touch base with the wider public and counter the appeal of militants.

“We are saving (people) energy, time and effort by placing this desk in this blessed place that is the greatest meeting point for the Egyptian population,” said Saeed Amer, Deputy Secretary General of the Al-Azhar department in charge of issuing religious edicts and one of the clerics in the kiosk.

Almost 2,000 people have come to seek advice since the initiative began two weeks ago in the Shohadaa subway station.

Many questions to the clerics have touched on issues of prayer rituals, inheritance, marriage and divorce.

Commuters appeared to welcome the initiative, with some even calling for more kiosks to pop up at other stations across the capital.

But some critics impressed.

“It is clear (Al-Azhar) is disconnected from reality. I am shocked that after almost four years were not of requests from the... president, and passed through all levels of society, to make amendments to religious rhetoric, they only come up with this (kiosk) idea,” parliamentarian Mohamed Abu Hamed said.

“I will not respect what they are doing in this domain until they practically do what is demanded of them, which is the... revision of the context (of religious discourse). That is the core problem.”

The 1,000-year-old Al-Azhar has come under fire from parliament and local media who accuse its clerics of failing to modernise their religious discourse to better counter the lure of militancy among disaffected, marginalised young people.

Militants are waging an insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula and have killed hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police in clashes since 2013.

In 2015, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on Al-Azhar to update their teachings to better engage youth and steer them away from militancy.

The Azhar Observatory was subsequently launched.

Operating in 10 languages, the Observatory tracks social media where militants spread their rhetoric so as to counter and refute it in timely fashion.