Dr. Samir Boudinar: The Distinguished Scholar Dr. El-Shafei Represents a Renewed Link Between the Scholars of the East and Their Counterparts in the West<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Hasan El-Shafei: Renewal Has Its Conditions, and Among Muslims, It Means Demonstrating the Firm Beliefs Through the Quran and the Sunnah<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As part of its cultural program at the 30th edition of the Rabat International Book Fair, the Muslim Council of Elders hosted a seminar titled: \u201cThe Potential for Renewing Islamic Theology through Personal Experience.\u201d The seminar was moderated by Dr. Samir Boudinar, Director of the Al-Hokama Center for Peace Research, and featured a keynote address by His Eminence Professor Dr. Hasan Abdullatif El-Shafei, member of the Muslim Council of Elders, member of Al-Azhar\u2019s Council of Senior Scholars, Chairman of the Union of Arabic Language and Science Academies, and former President of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the beginning of the seminar, Dr. Boudinar emphasized that the presence of His Eminence Sheikh El-Shafei at the Muslim Council of Elders\u2019 pavilion at the Rabat International Book Fair, and his visit to Morocco as a distinguished guest, held \u201cspecial significance.\u201d He described him as a renewed link between the venerable scholars of the East and their counterparts in the West, particularly between Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Egypt and Al-Qarawiyyin University in Fez. Dr. Boudinar noted that Dr. El-Shafei is one of the most prominent specialists in Islamic theology, a distinguished scholar whose reputation has spread across the Islamic world, known among scholars and researchers alike for his profound scholarship and meticulous research, both in the East and the West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For his part, His Eminence Professor Dr. El-Shafei highlighted that there are numerous commonalities in the field of Islamic theology between the scholars of Cairo and Rabat, most notably a \u201ctendency toward institutional renewal\u201d through \u201cscientific bodies\u201d \u2014 an approach found uniquely in Morocco and at Al-Azhar headquarters in Egypt. He explained that in the Western world, renewal generally meant reviving Roman legal traditions and Greek philosophy, while in the Islamic context, it involved reviving the \u201cexperimental spirit\u201d within Islamic heritage. In the West, renewal concerned fundamentals, beliefs, issues, and proofs, whereas \u201cfor the East, renewal focuses on issues, methodological rules, and proofs alone,\u201d noting that \u201cwe do not have ecumenical councils that introduce new doctrines into the core of our faith.\u201d He stressed that \u201crenewal among Muslims means demonstrating the established articles of faith through the Quran and the Sunnah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His Eminence further explained that renewal has specific conditions, as understood by jurists, hadith scholars, and theologians \u2014 including the renowned thinker Ibn Rushd (Averroes), as stated in the early pages of his work \u201cThe Decisive Treatise on the Connection Between Islamic Religious Law and Philosophy.\u201d The first condition, he said, is mastery of the Arabic language; the second, not relying on a single proof for a given issue; and the third, profound expertise in the field targeted for renewal. Additionally, he emphasized the necessity of familiarity with contemporary human knowledge and thought, engagement with the intellectual traditions of previous civilizations and Muslim scholars through critical discussion rather than blind acceptance, and a deep understanding of the history and development of Islamic theology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Muslim Council of Elders\u2019 pavilion at the Rabat International Book Fair showcases more than 250 diverse intellectual and cultural publications, including several of the latest 2025 releases from Al-Hokama Publishing. These works address some of the most pressing contemporary intellectual and cultural issues. In addition to its publications, the Council is hosting a series of cultural and intellectual activities featuring an elite group of scholars, thinkers, writers, cultural figures, academics, and university professors. This comes in line with the Council\u2019s mission to promote peace and foster the values of dialogue, tolerance, and human coexistence.
The Muslim Council of Elders\u2019 pavilion is located in the Souissi district of Rabat, at Booth D47.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dr. Samir Boudinar: The Distinguished Scholar Dr. El-Shafei Represents a Renewed Link Between the Scholars of the East and Their Counterparts in the West Dr. Hasan El-Shafei: Renewal Has Its Conditions, and Among Muslims, It Means Demonstrating the Firm Beliefs Through the Quran and the Sunnah As part of its cultural program at the 30th […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3507,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n