General Abdul Fatah Khalil Al-Sisi. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

According to Egyptian media, during his recent speech at the Department of Moral Affairs for the Armed Forces, General Abdul Fateh al-Sisi – the man who ousted former President Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood in response to the June Revolution and who is seen as the nation’s de facto ruler – declared that “Religious discourse is the greatest battle and challenge facing the Egyptian people, and pointed to the need for a new vision and a modern, comprehensive understanding of the religion of Islam—rather than relying on a discourse that has not changed for 800 years.”

Sisi further “called on all who follow the true Islam to improve the image of this religion in front of the world, after  Islam has been for decades convicted of violence and destruction around the world, due to the crimes falsely committed in the name of Islam.”