Mohammad Salim Al-Awa
Encyclopedia
Mohammad Salim Al-Awa is an Egypt
ian Islamist
thinker, widely considered to belong to the moderate Islamic democratic
strain. He is the former Secretary General of the International Union for Muslim Scholars based in London, and head of the Egyptian Association for Culture and Dialogue. Al-Awa has been called one of the few Islamic thinkers who has made a "serious attempt" at "defining what Islamism
would mean in a modern society," or "courageously delved into the realities of Islamic history and experimented with new interpretations."
On 14 June 2011, Al-Awa declared his candidacy for the upcoming Egyptian presidential election
in September of that year.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian Islamist
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
thinker, widely considered to belong to the moderate Islamic democratic
Islamic democracy
Islamic democracy refers to two kinds of democratic states that can be recognized in the Islamic countries. The basis of this distinction has to do with how comprehensively Islam is incorporated into the affairs of the state....
strain. He is the former Secretary General of the International Union for Muslim Scholars based in London, and head of the Egyptian Association for Culture and Dialogue. Al-Awa has been called one of the few Islamic thinkers who has made a "serious attempt" at "defining what Islamism
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
would mean in a modern society," or "courageously delved into the realities of Islamic history and experimented with new interpretations."
On 14 June 2011, Al-Awa declared his candidacy for the upcoming Egyptian presidential election
Egyptian presidential election, 2011
A presidential election is expected to be held in Egypt in March or April 2012. It will be the second even remotely competitive presidential election in Egypt's history, following the 2005 election and presidential confirmation referendums in 1999, 1993, and earlier...
in September of that year.
Writings
- "Discretionary or Prescribed Punishment!", IslamOnline, April 13, 2006
- "A Contemporary Islamic View of Dhimmah", IslamOnline, June 6, 2006
External links
- Official website
- iumsonline.net
- "Mohamed Selim El-Awa: Political thought, activism, and the spaces between; Faith in the struggle; Profile by Omayma Abdel-Latif", Al Ahram Weekly, 30 October - 5 November 2003, Issue No. 662