Mustafa 'Abd ar-Raziq

Shaykh Mustafa Abd ar-Raziq (Arabic: مصطفى عبد الرازق) (1885 – 15 February 1947) was an Egyptian Islamic philosopher.^[1]

Mustafa Abdel Raziq

Early life

He was born in Abu Jirj, Minya Governorate.

Career

Abd ar-Raziq succeeded Mustafa al-Maraghi as rector of al-Azhar. His appointment encountered resistance, since he was not a member of the Council of Supreme ulama: King Farouk pressured for the law to be altered to allow him to assume office.^[2] Historian Fawaz Gerges characterized ar-Raziq as a "rebel member of al-Azhar" during his era.^[3]

A follower of Muhammad Abduh, Abd ar-Raziq wanted "to prove the compatibility of traditional Islamic philosophy with the rationalism of modern thought".^[4]

His brother, Ali Abdel Raziq, was an Egyptian scholar of Islam, religious judge and government minister.^[5]

He was involved with the al-Umma party (1907–1925), an influential political party in early-20th century Egypt.^[3] He was among the contributors of al-Siyasa, newspaper of the Liberal Constitutional Party.^[6] In November 1940 Raziq was appointed minister of waqf to the cabinet led by Prime Minister Hussein Sirri Pasha.^[7]