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Mahmud Shaltut (23 April 1893 – 13 December 1963) was an Egyptian Islamic scholar who served as Grand Imam of Al-Azhar from 1958 until his death in 1963. A disciple of Muhammad Abduh, Shaltut is known for his attempts in reform.
However, not everyone was keen on change and al-Maraghi's bold ideas quickly brought him down. After a brief one-year posting, al-Maraghi resigned as Grand Imam of al-Azhar and in his place came Sheikh Mohammad al-Ahmadi al-Zawahiri. Unlike al-Maraghi, whom Shaltut viewed as being a proactive leader and reformer, al-Zawahiri was perceived by Shaltut as being reactionary. Shaltut himself was a modernist disciple of Muhammad Abduh and Muhammad Rashid Rida and their influences on him are clearly discernible in his writings, actions, and ideas.
Thus, it was inevitable Shaltut would harbor resistance to al-Zawahiri's passive policies, and therefore, he was consequently dismissed from al-Azhar in September 1931 along with others in what can be conceived as a general purge of those associated with al-Maraghi's reform faction. Shaltut spent his time spent away from al-Azhar working as a lawyer in the Shari’a courts. It was not until al-Maraghi's second appointment in 1935 that Shaltut would return to al-Azhar.
During al-Maraghi's second post at the helm of al-Azhar, which lasted ten years until 1945, Shaltut became Wakil (Vice Dean) of the Kulliyat ash-Shari’a, and in 1937 he attended the Deuxieme Congrès International de Droit Comparé at the Hague, where he was one of only three scholars selected to represent al-Azhar. His speech regarding civil and criminal liability in Islamic law impressed those within al-Azhar circles and thus served to increase his status within the institute.
Later in 1939, Shaltut was appointed as inspector of religious studies and went on to be elected to membership in the Arabic Language Academy in Cairo in 1946. Shaltut's rise to prominence continued and in November 1957 he was selected as Vice Rector. Less than one year later Shaltut was finally given the highest honor and made Shaykh al-Azhar by President Gamal Abdel Nasser in October 1958. Previously, al-Azhar scholars were granted the power to elect the grand imam, but in 1961, after nationalizing the religious institution, Abdel Nasser issued a new al-Azhar Law, limiting the power of the al-Azhar imams and giving the government power to appoint the grand imam. By deepening the ties between the regime and the institution, this allowed the post-1952 revolutionary government of Abdel Nasser to work to integrate education into a unified system and find an ally in Shaltut, who would strive for modernization of curricula and a broader public-service function - at home and abroad - for al-Azhar.
Admiration for Shaltut grew rapidly and his unprecedented decision to undertake regular broadcasts, in which he delivered religious sermons and answered questions from those who had doubts or criticism, only enhanced his reputation. These broadcasts were later published by the Ministry of National Guidance as Ahadith al-Sabah fi’l-Midhya and Yas’aluna (Ask Us).
He also acquired a reputation as a great orator. His capability to communicate well with the masses garnered him many listeners as he spoke of varying issues regarding contemporary Muslim society such as family law, private property, birth control, and polygamy (which he strongly defended), to name a few. In essence, Shaltut believed that the relevance of shari’a law in the modern day was not to be undermined. Also, he viewed his Quranic commentary, or his tafsir, more as practical advice for any literate Muslim rather than a strict scholarly analysis.
Shaltut strove to portray Islam to the world as a religion of unity, flexibility, and moderation. He furiously condemned sectarianism, saint worship, and miracles while promoting tolerance and reason among the Islamic population. Moreover, Shaltut had no concerns accepting socialism and had great pride in his Egyptian nationality while at the same time supporting Pan-Arabism.
Nevertheless, as any prominent figure would, Shaltut (and the overall ulama at the time) had his dissenters. A post-1960s Arab world was essentially one in which there was a crisis of religious leadership. Shaltut's attempts to reengage the ulama into people's broad culture fell on deaf ears as he was seen as peripheral to the state — a man set in place to satisfy the regime rather than serve the religion. His interpretation of core Islamic principles sharply contrasted with the consensus of his peers and the historical legacy of the al-Azhar. His beliefs and the efforts that exemplified them were anomalous to mainstream Islam and definitively beyond the pale of the religion.
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