Tawfik Hamid
Encyclopedia
Tawfik Hamid is an author from Egypt
who opposes Islamic fundamentalism
.
A self-described former member of the militant al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Tawfik Hamid advocates a peaceful understanding of Islam
that is compatible with universal human rights
and intellectual freedom
. He says that he started to preach in mosque
s to promote his message of and, as a result, became a target of Islamic militants, who threatened his life. Hamid then migrated to the West where he has lectured at UCLA
, Stanford University
, University of Miami
and Georgetown University
against Islamic fundamentalism. He currently serves on the Advisory Council of The Intelligence Summit
, an annual conference on security. Hamid has also appeared on television programs, including CNN
's Glenn Beck
Show, Fox News Channel
, and the BBC
's Religion and Ethics.
Hamid, also known as Tarek Abdelhamid, has a medical degree in internal medicine and a master's degree in cognitive psychology and educational techniques.
is the mercy for all mankind. For example, a man once asked him regarding good morals and what they consist of. Muhammad said that "to care even for those who boycott you, to give to those who deprive you, and to forgive those who did evil things against you."
He says that Muslim fundamentalists believe that Saudi Arabia's petroleum-based wealth is a divine gift and that Saudi influence is sanctioned by Allah. Thus, the Salafist extreme brand of Sunni Islam that spread from the Saudi Arabia to the rest of the Islamic world is regarded not merely as one interpretation of the religion but as the only genuine interpretation. The expansion of violent and regressive Islam, he continues, began in the late 1970s and can be traced precisely to the growing financial clout of Saudi Arabia.
but means "angel of death". This created a link in the minds of most Muslim children the need to hate the word Israel. In an article titled "Why I loved Israel based on the Qur'an", he claims that according to the Qur'an, God gave the Israelites the land of Israel as their promised land (Quran 17:104: And We said thereafter to the Children of Israel, "Dwell securely in the land of promise".
He explains the Quran went even further to consider the Promised Land as the permanent inheritance for the Israelites (26:59) "Thus it was, but we made the Children of Israel inheritors of such things (the Promised Land)" He continued by saying, "No Muslim has the right to interfere with the gathering of the Jews in Israel, as this is the will of God himself"
Hamid explains why not. All interpretations of the Koran which concludes otherwise, he explains, ignore the article "the", or its Arabic equivalent "al-". For example, Koran uses the term "al-Kafereen" ("the infidels") to refer to those who initiated hostilities during early phase of Islam, not any "infidel" in perpetuity.
He quotes verse 2:190, which reminds good Muslims not to initiate violence under any circumstance against anyone and to restrain themselves in the event the enemy initiates hostilities.
He shows examples of the Jews being praised and that "pigs" and "monkeys" are not to be taken literally.
He says that only God knows everything and so humans should not judge others on necessarily incomplete information.
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...
who opposes Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
.
A self-described former member of the militant al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya is an Egyptian Islamist movement, and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union and Egyptian governments...
Tawfik Hamid advocates a peaceful understanding of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
that is compatible with universal human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and intellectual freedom
Intellectual freedom
Intellectual freedom is the right to freedom of thought and of expression of thought. As defined by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is a human right. Article 19 states:...
. He says that he started to preach in mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s to promote his message of and, as a result, became a target of Islamic militants, who threatened his life. Hamid then migrated to the West where he has lectured at UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
and Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
against Islamic fundamentalism. He currently serves on the Advisory Council of The Intelligence Summit
The Intelligence Summit
The Intelligence Summit is an annual conference run principally by John Loftus and funded an organization he controls, the Intelligence and Homeland Security Educational Center ....
, an annual conference on security. Hamid has also appeared on television programs, including CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
's Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck
Glenn Edward Lee Beck is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks...
Show, Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, and the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Religion and Ethics.
Hamid, also known as Tarek Abdelhamid, has a medical degree in internal medicine and a master's degree in cognitive psychology and educational techniques.
Website and beliefs
Hamid owns and runs a website, IslamforPeace.org "to revive Islam, save it from anachronistic interpretations, and make it a true power to support the values of liberty and humanity." Dr. Hamid says he believes in developing respectful and positive relationships with other nations and religions. He says that he learned that position from the Qur'an.Mission
Hamid writes that the real message of Islam has been hijacked by many people throughout history. Those people defamed Islam and portrayed it incorrectly.Methodology
Since his goal is to understand the Quran and teach others about it, Hamid's methodology incorporate three processes to get a holistic understanding:- A probing analysis of the subtleties and complexities of the Arabic language to develop a more precise understanding of the Quran and the message it offers.
- Knowledge of the historical circumstances which occasioned the revelation of key Quranic verses.
- Interpreting Quranic suras (chapters) and verses holistically to better appreciate their overall significance and synergistic qualities, rather than individually, which leads only to literal interpretations that do not take into account other verses and even whole segments of the Quran.
Core Activities
Hamid has worked towards developing respectful and positive relationships with other religions. He quotes the Quranic verse that establishes an important concept: that it is God Himself who "made us into nations and tribes" and so it is the will of God to have human diversity. We, as humans, have to look at this diversity as we look to flowers of different colors. Each one adds more beauty and complements the others.(49:13) O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).
Views on the teachings of Muhammad
MuhammadMuhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
is the mercy for all mankind. For example, a man once asked him regarding good morals and what they consist of. Muhammad said that "to care even for those who boycott you, to give to those who deprive you, and to forgive those who did evil things against you."
Views on radical Islam
In a 2009 Wall Street Journal article, Hamid said that Islam should prove its peacefulness and called Islamic scholars and clerics "to produce a Shariah book that will be accepted in the Islamic world and that teaches that Jews are not pigs and monkeys, that declaring war to spread Islam is unacceptable, and that killing apostates is a crime."He says that Muslim fundamentalists believe that Saudi Arabia's petroleum-based wealth is a divine gift and that Saudi influence is sanctioned by Allah. Thus, the Salafist extreme brand of Sunni Islam that spread from the Saudi Arabia to the rest of the Islamic world is regarded not merely as one interpretation of the religion but as the only genuine interpretation. The expansion of violent and regressive Islam, he continues, began in the late 1970s and can be traced precisely to the growing financial clout of Saudi Arabia.
Views on Israel
Hamid said that most Muslims correlate the word Israel to the word Azraeil that sounds like IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
but means "angel of death". This created a link in the minds of most Muslim children the need to hate the word Israel. In an article titled "Why I loved Israel based on the Qur'an", he claims that according to the Qur'an, God gave the Israelites the land of Israel as their promised land (Quran 17:104: And We said thereafter to the Children of Israel, "Dwell securely in the land of promise".
He explains the Quran went even further to consider the Promised Land as the permanent inheritance for the Israelites (26:59) "Thus it was, but we made the Children of Israel inheritors of such things (the Promised Land)" He continued by saying, "No Muslim has the right to interfere with the gathering of the Jews in Israel, as this is the will of God himself"
Correcting Myths about the Koran
Hamid corrects misinformation about the Koran. He corrects three commonly misunderstood topics including the following:- Does the Koran instruct Muslims to kill non-Muslim?
Hamid explains why not. All interpretations of the Koran which concludes otherwise, he explains, ignore the article "the", or its Arabic equivalent "al-". For example, Koran uses the term "al-Kafereen" ("the infidels") to refer to those who initiated hostilities during early phase of Islam, not any "infidel" in perpetuity.
He quotes verse 2:190, which reminds good Muslims not to initiate violence under any circumstance against anyone and to restrain themselves in the event the enemy initiates hostilities.
- Does the Quran support anti-Semitism?
He shows examples of the Jews being praised and that "pigs" and "monkeys" are not to be taken literally.
- Are we allowed to judge others or condemn them as "Infidels"?
He says that only God knows everything and so humans should not judge others on necessarily incomplete information.
Articles
- Why I love Israel (based on the Quran) by Dr. Tawfik Hamid
- When I asked my Muslim friend, "Why do you hate the Jews?" by Dr. Tawfik Hamid
- Is there a hope to reform Islam? by Dr. Tawfik Hamid