Mahmoud Zakzouk

Mahmoud Zakzouk (‎; 27 December 1933 – 1 April 2020) was an Egyptian politician and academic. He served as minister of religious endowment of Egypt from 1995 to 2011.

Early life and education Zakzouk was born in Dakahlia, Egypt, on 27 December 1933. Then he received a master's degree from the same university in 1960. His PhD thesis dealt with the comparison of the philosophical approaches of Descartes and Al-Ghazali.

Zakzouk served as head of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs to which he was appointed in 1996. He held the following posts: vice president of Al Azhar University (1995), member of the Islamic Research Academy, member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in Salzburg

Views Zakzouk argued in 2006 that the Baháʼí Faith "is 'not a revealed religion' for Muslims and thus not subject to special protection in Egypt." He also publicly claimed that capital punishment for converts, more specifically those Muslim-born persons who convert to other religious beliefs, is legal. In 2007, he called on Egyptian imams to condemn the practice of female genital mutilation.

Zakzouk frowned on the use of the niqab. He expelled a counsellor wearing the niqab from a meeting at his ministry, and stated "the religious counsellor should set an example of moderation. By wearing the niqab, this female counsellor promotes a tradition not demanded by Islam".

In 2010, Zakzouk announced a plan to unify the Adhan, but the religious affairs committee in the parliament refused his proposal. Seven years later, actress Shereen Reda and the Minister of Religious Affairs, Gaber Tayae, relaunched Zakzouk's suggestions through a press campaign.

Personal life and death Zakzouk was married and had one child.

Prizes 1997: Egyptian State Prize for Social Sciences On the Role of Islam in the Development of Philosophical Thought (1989), Al Ghazalis Philosophie im Vergleich mit Descartes (Comparison of Al Ghazali's Philosophy with that of Descartes, 1992), Fragen zum Thema Islam (Questions on Islam, 1999) and Einführung in den Islam (Introduction to Islam, 2000). The book focuses on interfaith origins of tolerance.