Intellectual invasion (al-ghazw al-fikri) in the Sheikh's view

Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy holds that part of the confused understanding in the nation comes from an organised intellectual and cultural invasion it has suffered for centuries, and that, in his view, colonialism and the West drain wealth and minds. ^{1 2}

The Sheikh holds that a confused understanding, which mixed customs and traditions with the religion of God and distorted the identity, is the result of an intellectual and cultural invasion and an organised assault over many centuries. ¹ He asks whether the fault lies in the hands or in the minds, and contrasts the deeds of Muslims with Western achievement. ³

The Sheikh holds that Western extraction drains wealth, and that colonialism, when it left as a military occupation, left behind the draining of minds. ² He holds that the coloniser studied the society's customs, manners and traditions in full. ⁴

The Sheikh holds that a child memorises English and French poetry while not memorising the Qur'an, and that the Qur'an should be the nation's curriculum. ⁵

The Sheikh says that in France and England advertisements are not written in any other language (needs_source: this is not sourced in the recording). He holds that Arabic has a special standing because it is the language of the religion, and that the identity of a nation lies in its language. ⁶

The programme asks whether the nation should dialogue with the West. The Sheikh says that a current called postmodernism has existed in Western thought since about 1950. ⁸ He holds that the West now speaks of a return to the family, that Muslims have something to offer, and that they should act and not only look on. ⁷