In Search of a Lost Paradigm : A Case Study Approach to Retracing Traditionalist Influence in the Fatwas of Ali Goma, Grand Mufti of Egypt

Abstract: This paper is an attempt to describe how two religious edicts by the current Egyptian grand mufti relate to an ongoing theological debate in the Muslim world on the nature of miracles and the state of mankind between life and death. The study illustrates how the mufti adheres to the Sunni theological school of Ash‘ariyya and in what way said school has emerged as a theological middle ground between the literal and interpretative schools of thought. The study also reveals how the Mufti as a guardian of the faith must operate within a secularising context and what strategies are possible for him to utilise if he is to meet the demands of a modernised society whilst retaining a coherent religious explanation. In his office as grand mufti, Ali Goma may well be described as a traditionalist where theological matters are considered even if the governmental institute of Dār al- iftā has been modernised under his supervision and now uses 24 hour phone lines, e-mail, facebook and has an official webpage and translates many of its edicts into other languages than Arabic. This means that Dār al-iftā and Ali Goma are communicating an official Islam not only to the Muslims of Egypt, but has transformed from a national institute to a player in the era of globalisation.