Mahmoud Zakzouk

Mahmoud Hamdi Zakzouk (Arabic: محمود حمدي زقزوق‎‎; 27 December 1933 – 1 April 2020) was an Egyptian politician and academic. He served as Minister of Religious Endowment of Egypt from 1995 to 2011.

Mahmoud Zakzouk
Minister of Religious Endowment
In office
1995–2011
Personal details
Born(1933-12-27)27 December 1933
Dakahlia, Egypt
Died1 April 2020(2020-04-01) (aged 86)
NationalityEgyptian
Alma materAl Azhar University
Munich University

Early life and education

Zakzouk was born in Dakahlia, Egypt, on 27 December 1933.[1][2] He obtained a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from Al Azhar University.[2] He also received a PhD in philosophy from Munich University in 1968.[3] His PhD thesis was a comparison of the philosophical approach of Descartes and Al-Ghazali.[4]

Career

Zakzouk was a professor of philosophy and taught philosophy at his alma mater, Al Azhar University.[4] He joined the university in 1968.[3] From 1972 to 1976 he was visiting professor in Libya and from 1980 to 1984 in Qatar.[2] He served as the dean of the Islamic Theology Faculty at Al Azhar from 1987 to 1995.[3] He was appointed minister of religious endowments (Awqaf) in 1995 and was in office until the Revolution of 2011 when he was removed.[4]

Zakzouk served as head of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs to which he was appointed in 1996.[3][5] He held the following posts: vice president of Al Azhar University (1995), member of the Islamic Research Academy, member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in Salzburg[4] and head of the Egyptian Society of Philosophy.[3]

In July 2016, Zakzouk received the bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot to give him a tour of the Al-Azhar University upon the request of Pope Francis, and to discuss the formal resumption of dialogue between the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and Al-Azhar University.[6][7]

Views

Zakzouk argued in 2006 that the Baháʼí Faith "is 'not a revealed religion' for Muslims and thus not subject to special protection in Egypt."[8] He also publicly claimed that capital punishment for converts, more specifically those Muslim-born persons who convert to other religious beliefs, is legal.[9] In 2007, he called on Egyptian imams to condemn the practice of female genital mutilation.[10]

Zakzouk frowned on the use of the niqab. He expelled a counsellor wearing the niqab from a meeting at his ministry, and stated "the religious counsellor should set an example of moderation. By wearing the niqab, this female counsellor promotes a tradition not demanded by Islam".[11]

In 2010, Zakzouk announced a plan to unify the Adhan, but the Religious Affairs Committee in parliament refused his proposal. Seven years later, actress Shereen Reda and the Minister of Religious Affairs, Gaber Tayae, relaunched Zakzouk's suggestions through a press campaign.[12][13]

Personal life and death

Zakzouk was married and had one child.[1] He died on 1 April 2020.[14][15][16]

Prizes
  • 1997: Egyptian State Prize for Social Sciences[3]

Works

Zakzouk published many scientific articles and books, including On Philosophy Culture and Peace in Islam,[17] On the Role of Islam in the Development of Philosophical Thought (1989), Al Ghazalis Philosophie im Vergleich mit Descartes (Comparison of Al Ghazali's Philosophy with that of Descartes, 1992), Fragen zum Thema Islam (Questions on Islam, 1999) and Einführung in den Islam (Introduction to Islam, 2000).[2] He also contributed to The End of Tolerance? which was published in 2002.[18] The book focuses on interfaith origins of tolerance.[18]

References
  1. "Ministry of Waqfs (Endowments)". SIS. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  2. "Professor Dr. Mahmoud Hamdi Zakzouk". Robert Bosch Stiftung. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  3. P. Koslowski (30 June 2002). Progress, Apocalypse, and Completion of History and Life After Death of the Human Person in the World Religions. Springer. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-4020-0647-0.
  4. "Mahmoud Hamdi Zakzouk". DAAD. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  5. "Conferences". Al Azhar. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  6. Carol Glatz, Vatican working to re-establish dialogue with leading Sunni university, Catholicherald.com, 12 July 2016.
  7. Elise Harris, Vatican, Al-Azhar team up to counter religious justification for violence, Cruxnow.com, 21 February 2017.
  8. David Faris (2010). "Revolutions without revolutionaries? Social media networks and regime response in Egypt". Penn Dissertations (116).
  9. Nina Shea (2011). Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes Are Choking Freedom Worldwide. New York: OUP. p. 70.  – via Questia (subscription required)
  10. Khaled Diab, Scars that refuse to heal, The Guardian, 14 August 2007.
  11. Yasmine Saleh (14 March 2008). "Zakzouk supports calls to equate women to men in court testimonies". Masress. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  12. Farah Tawfeek, Azhar Sheikh criticizes Shereen Reda's description of some calls to prayer as 'animal sounds', Egypt Independent, 25 December 2017.
  13. Farah Tawfeek, Endowments Ministry defends Shereen Reda’s likening of some prayer calls to 'animal sounds', Egypt Independent, 27 December 2017.
  14. "وفاة الدكتور محمود حمدي زقزوق وزير الأوقاف الأسبق عن 87 عامًا | المصري اليوم". www.almasryalyoum.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  15. "Egypt's Mufti mourns death of former Awqaf Minister". Egyptian government. 1 April 2020.
  16. "Muslim Council of Elders mourns the passing of Council member and reputed Islamic Scholar Mahmoud Zakzouk". Muslim Council of Elders. 2 April 2020.
  17. Zakzouk, Mahmoud. On Philosophy Culture and Peace in Islam (PDF). Cairo: Shorouk.
  18. The End of Tolerance?. ASIN 1857883179.
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