To Be or Not to Be – Farag Foda
A Vision of Enlightenment in the Face of Extremism
Historical Context and Intellectual Framework
To Be or Not to Be was published in 1990, at the height of Egypt’s intellectual battle between advocates of political Islam and defenders of the secular civil state. In this book, Farag Foda collected a series of bold essays he had published in newspapers such as October and Al-Ahrar, where he attacked intellectual stagnation and rejected the imposition of religious law in its extremist interpretation.
The book presents a comprehensive vision of Foda’s thought, building on earlier works like Dialogue on Secularism and The Absent Truth. His central argument was clear: Islam is “a religion, not a state,” and the historical caliphate was “a Qurayshi Arab political system, not the essence of Islam.”
Core Intellectual Themes
1. A Radical Critique of the Religious State
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Dismantling the Caliphate Myth: Foda rejected the idea of the caliphate as divinely ordained, framing it instead as a man-made political construct rooted in power struggles—citing early conflicts after the Prophet Muhammad’s death, such as the rivalry between Ali and Mu‘awiya.
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Separating Religion from Politics: He asserted that “Islam is worship and ethics, not a system of governance,” warning that attempts to Islamize the state distort religion and turn it into an instrument of repression.
2. Defending Secularism as a Guarantee of Freedom
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Defining Secularism: Foda clarified that secularism “is not atheism,” but rather the separation of religion and state to ensure equality for all citizens regardless of faith.
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Models of Application: He pointed to the successes of countries like Japan and Turkey in embracing modernity while maintaining cultural identity.
3. Critiquing Religious Institutions and Political Exploitation of Faith
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Attack on Al-Azhar: Foda condemned Al-Azhar’s inconsistency—ignoring his essays when serialized in newspapers but demanding the book’s confiscation once they were collected in print, exposing its political subservience.
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Exposing Extremist Groups: He revealed how radical organizations instrumentalized religion for political gain, exemplified by the 1992 statement from Al-Azhar’s Scholars’ Front declaring him an apostate and calling for his death.
4. Tackling Contentious Reform Issues
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Islamic Hudud Laws: Foda argued that applying the punishment for adultery was impossible in modern times given the impracticality of its evidentiary requirements.
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Temporary Marriage and Slavery: He analyzed these as historical practices incompatible with contemporary notions of human dignity.
Controversy and Assassination
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Book Confiscation: Al-Azhar moved to ban the book upon publication, forcing it into underground circulation.
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The Famous Debate (1992): At the Cairo Book Fair, Foda publicly debated clerics like Muhammad al-Ghazali and Muhammad ‘Imara, arguing that the religious state was doomed to fail. Just one week later, he was assassinated.
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Religious Justification of the Murder: During the trial of his killers, Sheikh al-Ghazali testified that “killing an apostate is permissible,” effectively granting religious legitimacy to the crime.
The Symbolism of Social Excommunication
Foda dedicated the book to his son Ahmad’s friends, who boycotted his birthday because their parents branded Foda a “heretic.” In the dedication he wrote:
“To them, when they grow up and realize that I defended their future, and that what they did was harsher than their fathers’ bullets.”
This epitomized the generational divide and the use of religion as a weapon of social exclusion.
Structure and Style of the Book
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Language: Foda employed a direct style, accessible to both lay readers and intellectuals, weaving historical anecdotes with political analysis.
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Methodology: He combined bold criticism with references to Islamic tradition itself, as in his critiques of Sheikh Salah Abu Ismail, supported by official Al-Azhar documents.
Notable Essays:
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The Trilogy of Sheikh Salah: exposing contradictions among advocates of Sharia rule.
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The Secret Alliance Program: revealing alliances between Islamists and the state.
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Fatwas of the End Times: highlighting extremist clerical decrees.
Thirty Years After His Assassination
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Continuing Intellectual Struggle: The book remains relevant in the context of the Arab Spring and the rise of Salafi movements.
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Polarized Reception: To secularists, Foda is a “martyr of free thought,” while his opponents still paint him as a radical secularist.
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Written Legacy: In 2024, Foda’s friend Gamal Salah al-Din published Years with Farag Foda, documenting his assassination and the trial of his killers.
Why Revisit To Be or Not to Be Today?
The book stands as a testament for new generations facing extremism, warning of:
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The danger of using religion as a political weapon to divide societies.
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The necessity of separating religious absolutes from political variables.
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The urgent need for a renewed religious discourse to save Islam from being “held hostage by history.”
As Foda himself wrote:
“What I record in this book is a vital document for future generations, more than it is for our own.”
Today, thirty-three years after his murder, his words still ring as an alarm against the “frozen mentality that refuses self-criticism.
” To Be or Not to Be is not just a collection of essays, but a testimony to the ongoing struggle of enlightenment against obscurantism.
For the original summary in Arabic
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