Egyptian Philosopher: Secularism is a Cultural Necessity

Egyptian Philosopher Murad Wahba Supports Normalization of Arab Relations with Israel and Declares: Secularism Is a Cultural Necessity



From Transcript:

Interviewer: You have said that the term "secularism" is taboo among the Arabs.

Murad Wahba: Any person who says he is secular they either slaughter him or accuse him of apostasy. This happened to Sheik 'Ali Abd Al-Razeq in 1925, to Taha Hussein in 1926, to Naguib Mahfouz, and to Farag Fouda, who they killed. Nevertheless, I feel secularism is a cultural necessity. I call for secularism now, and we have held four conferences about it, which were peaceful, except for some minor threats.

Interviewer: You recently said that fundamentalism has led Egypt to sterility.

Murad Wahba: The most important thing in fundamentalism is adherence to the literal religious text, rather than using the mind [to interpret] the text. In other words, it paralyzes the mind. The fundamentalists lead the paralyzing of the mind, which means the paralyzing of creativity and of thought, which leads to backwardness.

Aired June 22, 2009 on ON TV (Egypt)