Egypt's Al-Azhar looks to 'cafe preachers' to spread its message
Egypt's most influential religious institution hopes to gain a wider audience and counter radical ideas by sending preachers to the coffee shops.
At a cafe in downtown Cairo, where customers are chatting among themselves as waiters shout drink orders to the kitchen staff, a number of Al-Azhar preachers arrive decked out in their traditional attire. They talk for a while to the cafe owner, before saying "Assalamu Alaikum" — a traditional Muslim greeting meaning "Peace be upon you" — to the customers, before introducing themselves.
"We are preachers. We want to talk to you. Will you allow us?" one of them asked a surprised patron, who agreed to the request. As time passed, the customer started a conversation with the preacher.
This scene could soon become common at the many cafes in Egypt. The idea of “cafe preachers” is the brainchild of the Al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy. Late last year, preachers started mingling among cafes' clientele in some Upper Egyptian cities, where they were welcomed warmly.
Mohieddin Afifi, the secretary-general of the academy, told local media in February that the idea of cafe preachers developed within the framework of renewing religious discourse and improving the communication between Al-Azhar's preachers and the public. This new way of communication aims at confronting ideas that are radical and foreign to Egyptian society.
