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Hassan Mahmoud Abdel Latif Al-Shafi'i (born 1349 AH / 1930 AD) is a professor of Islamic doctrine and philosophy at the Faculty of Dar Al-Ulum , and head of the Arabic Language Academy in Cairo from February 2012 to 2020. He is the first Al-Azhar scholar to hold this position. He is also a member of the Council of Senior Scholars of Al-Azhar and the Council of Muslim Elders .
Hassan Mahmoud Abdel Latif Al-Shafi’i was born on Rajab 29, 1349 AH, corresponding to December 19, 1930 AD. He memorized the Holy Qur’an at a young age and joined the Cairo Al-Azhar Religious Institute in 1944, where he excelled among his peers. In 1953, he joined the Faculty of Usul al-Din at Al-Azhar University and the Faculty of Dar al-Ulum at Cairo University , specializing in Islamic philosophy . He was allowed to study at both faculties simultaneously, which was permitted at the time. He was arrested in 1954 while in his second year at the Faculty of Dar al-Ulum and was sentenced to life imprisonment in a military trial . However, he was released six years later, in 1960, to complete his university studies. He graduated in 1963 from the Faculties of Usul al-Din and Dar al-Ulum, receiving first-class honors from the Faculty of Dar al-Ulum, and was appointed a teaching assistant in the Department of Islamic Philosophy. He was arrested again in 1964 while studying for his master's degree because of his affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood at the time . He was released, and was arrested again in 1966. He was released from prison four years later and continued his studies until he obtained his master's degree in 1969 with a study on Saif al-Din al-Amidi . He was sent to obtain a doctorate from the University of London , where he mastered the English language and became familiar with Western culture and the intellectual issues that Orientalists attack Islam with and raise suspicions about. He was able to complete his doctoral dissertation on "The Development of Twelver Theology in the Seventh Century AH" at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London in 1977, and then returned to teach Islamic philosophy at the Faculty of Dar al-Ulum.
After obtaining his doctorate, he taught at a number of Islamic universities: in 1979 at Omdurman Islamic University ( Sudan ), and in 1981 he was seconded to the International Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan, until 1988. He returned to teaching at the Faculty of Dar al-Ulum and then worked as the Vice Dean for Graduate Studies at the faculty until 1994. In the same year, he was elected a member of the Arabic Language Academy in Cairo . He then returned to the Islamic University in Pakistan as its president until 2004, and then returned to teaching at Dar al-Ulum as a part-time professor. However, he was dismissed from the university in August 2015 by a decision of the then-president, Dr. Jaber Nassar, on the grounds of combining two jobs without official permission from the university.
In February 2012, he was elected president of the Arabic Language Academy in Cairo after the death of the academy's president, Dr. Mahmoud Hafez , a few months earlier. After two terms as president of the academy, lasting eight years, he was elected for a third term (in elections that were repeated twice, and he won both times). However, he was removed by a decision from the Minister of Higher Education, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, on the grounds that leadership positions should not exceed two terms. Salah Fadl was appointed in his place , and he lost to him in the elections. Some sources have suggested that what happened was a settling of scores with Al-Shafi'i because of his political positions following the 2013 coup in Egypt .
Dr. Hassan El Shafei has a prolific scientific output. Since 1971, he has published ten books in Arabic on Islamic philosophy , monotheism , theology, and Sufism , more than 30 scientific research papers in numerous scientific journals and periodicals in Egypt and abroad, five verified heritage texts, and four books translated into English. This is in addition to supervising and judging dozens of university theses in Egypt , the Arab world, Pakistan , and Malaysia . Among his publications and research are:
In his memoirs, “My Life in My Stories” (published in 2015), Al-Shafei stated that he supported the January 25, 2011 revolution , and that he went to Tahrir Square in the heart of Cairo on January 28, which witnessed the climax of the revolution. He believes that Egypt revealed its noblest qualities, most wonderful feelings, and bravest positions in that revolution. He also described those who described the revolution as the beginning of chaos or a project of the West at the hands of their young agents as tyrants and slaves of tyranny. He was appointed as a delegate of Al- Azhar to the Egyptian Constitutional Committee in 2012. He took a position contrary to Al-Azhar following the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi and the subsequent demonstrations and sit-ins of rejection. Sheikh Hassan Al-Shafei unilaterally condemned the Manassa massacre in July 2013, expressed his complete rejection of the shedding of Egyptian blood due to politics, and called for reason between political opponents. In August 2013, he read a sharp statement broadcast by Al Jazeera following the dispersal of the Rabaa Al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda sit-ins , concluding with the words, “O God, I disavow before You what happened, and I condemn it with all my heart. I ask God for reason and wisdom for my countrymen, and I call upon them to repent. All power, strength, and might are in the hands of God, Lord of the Worlds.”
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