Mustafa al-Maraghi
Muhammad Mustafa al - Maraghi (Arabic محمد مصطفى المراغي, DMG Muhammad Mustafa, al - Maragi * 1881, † 1945) was an Egyptian reformist Islamic scholar who in his writings mainly dealt with interpretations of the Qur'an, was working on an Egyptian caliphate and 1928 to 1929 and again from 1935 to 1945 held the office of Sheikh al -Azhar.
Al- Maraghi was a disciple of Muhammad Abduh and served from 1908 to 1919 as chief judge in Sudan. During this time he learned the English language and developed initial plans for an Egyptian caliphate. In a letter to the British Governor-General of Sudan, Sir Reginald Wingate, he pulled the traditional Sunni doctrine in doubt, according to the Caliph has basically emerge from the Arab tribe of Quraysh.
After the occupation of Mecca by the Wahhabis al - Maraghi explored in 1925 in a secret mission in the Hijaz the possibilities of establishing an Egyptian protectorate over the Holy Places. In 1926 he was one of the main organizers of the Caliphate Congress in Cairo. However, both initiatives ended in failure.
1928 al - Maraghi was appointed by the Egyptian Parliament to Sheikh al -Azhar at the suggestion of Mustafa Nahhas Pasha - to. Shortly after taking office, he joined with a comprehensive and highly publicized reform program to the public, which included an official reintroduction of ijtihad. His dismissal in 1929 by King Fu'ad I. and replacement by his conservative opponent Muhammad al- Ahmadi al- Zawahiri caused a riot among the ʿ ulama ʾ Al-Azhar University, which led to the seventy were dismissed by them.
The opposition az- Zawahiri forced the king in April 1935 to his dismissal and reinstatement al - Marāghīs. After King Fu ʾ AD had died in the spring of 1936 and his son Faruq had ascended the throne, the social and political influence of al - Marāghīs increased sharply, because between him and the new king was a close and trusting relationship.
Al- Maraghi also showed great willingness to talk against Shiite scholars. He had particularly close ties to the Shiite scholars based in Najaf ʿ Abd al - Karīm az- Zandschānī (1887-1968), who was involved in the dialogue between Sunnis and Shiites. In al - Marāghīs operate az- Zandschānī the Presidency of the Congregation was offered that in Egypt announced in 1936 the start of Ramadan. Conversely sent al - Maraghi on az- Zandschānīs initiative in 1937 a study mission to British India. In February 1938, al - Maraghi turned by letter to az- Zandschānī and slammed the creation of an institution before, which should promote the rapprochement between denominations and schools of law. This " Islamic Supreme Council " ( maǧlis Islami a ʿ lā ) should simultaneously represent all Muslims. However, Al- Marāghīs plans met both az- Zandschānī as well as other Twelver Shiite scholars great skepticism and were ultimately not implemented.