Farag Foda ( ; 20 August 1945 – 8 June 1992) was a prominent Egyptian professor, writer, columnist, In December 1992, his collected works were banned.
Biography and background
Farag Foda was born in El Zarqa near Damietta in the Nile Delta. He worked as professor of agriculture.
Views and opinions
Among the few who defended secularism and ‘Western’ human rights, was Farag Foda. The jihadist group Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya announced responsibility.
Before his death, Farag Foda had been accused of blasphemy by Al-Azhar. The Al-Azhar ulama had thereby adopted a previous fatwā by Sheikh al-Azhar, Jadd al-Haqq, accusing Foda and other secularist writers of being "enemies of Islam".
In a statement claimed responsibility for the killing, Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya accused Foda of being an apostate from Islam, advocating the separation of religion from the state, and favouring the existing legal system in Egypt rather than the application of sharia.
One of those involved in Foda's murder, Abu El'Ela Abdrabu (Abu Al-'Ela Abd Rabbo), was released from prison in 2012 having served his sentence. In an interview which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on June 14, 2013 (as translated by MEMRI), Abdrabu defended Foda's murder, stating that "The punishment for an apostate is death, even if he repents" and that "[if] the ruler does not implement the shari'a, any of the citizens is entitled to carry out punishment of Allah." Abdrabu also stated that "Farag Foda is dead, and will receive his in the Hereafter." When asked about the feelings of Foda's children, Abdrabu accused the interviewer of using "venomous methods" against him, and then stated "let me ask you if you were not harmed by someone who cursed the Prophet and his wives? What gives you greater pain and sorrow? If you say that Farag Foda is a believer, then you should reexamine your faith."
Foda's eldest daughter Samar has rebutted the claims about her father's alleged apostasy, stating: "My father was a thinker in the full sense of the word and wholeheartedly defended moderate religion. I challenge his killers if they could spot a single text in his writings against religion."
Published works
Foda wrote 12 books in Arabic:
<!-- The titles of the books are translated from the Arabic Wikipedia -->
- The Absent Truth
- Dialogue About Sharia
- The Harbinger
- Sectarianism To Where?
- Before The Fall – 1st Print 1985. 2nd Print 1995
- Dialogue About Secularism – 1st Print 1993. 2nd Print 2005
- The Warning – 1st Print 1989. 2nd Print 2005
- The Played – 1st Print 1985. 2nd Print 2004
- To Be or Not to Be – 1st Print 1988. 2nd Print 2004
- Pleasure Marriage – 1st Print 1990. 2nd Print 2004
- The Ponzi Scheme
- So the Words Will Not Be in the Air
See also
- Apostasy in Islam
- Human rights in Egypt
- Terrorism in Egypt