Rachid Ghannouchi Tunisia's once-exiled Islamist leader has praised the governing AKP for reconciling Islam with modernity

A split has emerged among predominantly Sunni Islamic clerics and scholars in the Middle East as they consider whether to support the wave of popular revolts spreading throughout the region.

On one side of the divide are state-supported clerics -- such as conservative Salafis belonging to the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars in Saudi Arabia -- who have denounced antigovernment protests as un-Islamic. On the other side is the pro-reform camp, which itself embodies differing views -- from strict, or even radical, Islam to secularism. 

The contributions of such clerics and scholars to the shaping of public opinion are already significant, with millions in the Arab world following their opinions and writings. Now they are poised to play major roles in navigating uncertain political transitions.

'Against Allah'

Saudi Arabia's Council of Senior Islamic Scholars, in a statement issued March 6, decried protesters' tactics such as signature-gathering campaigns as "inflammatory," saying they were "against what the Allah almighty has ordered." 

On the other hand, Egyptian Islamic scholar Gamal al-Banna, a younger brother of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna, explains there is no contradiction between democratic values and Islam. 

"Protests and demonstrations are one of the very important means of promotion of virtue and prevention of vice," Banna says. "Holding demonstration means that people want to secure a neglected right or press for a legal demand."

Some reformists are looking to Turkey's governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) as an example of how to merge Islamic beliefs with democratic practices. 

Tunisia's once-exiled Islamist leader Rachid Ghannouchi, who is visiting Turkey this month, has praised the governing AKP for reconciling Islam with modernity. Another example is the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's effort to form a Freedom and Justice Party in Egypt in the moderate mold of the AKP.

Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Institution's Doha Center, says the differences among the clerics are mostly not theological and represent a board spectrum of political beliefs and practice. 

He notes that many leading theologians -- such as Qatar-based Yusuf al-Qaradawi -- are Islamist and are associated with known political movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood. Independent televangelists such as Amr Khalid, with their millions of viewers, have also emerged as influential figures because of their popularity. 

Hamid says that because of their popularity and grassroots support, people look to such figures for leadership. 

Protect Their Freedoms

A week after Hosni Mubarak's resignation as Egypt's president, Qaradawi led hundreds of thousands in Friday Prayers at Cairo's Tahrir Square. 

...

Read Full Original Text