Egyptian Cleric OK With Atheists - Just Not In Egypt

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9. Al-Banna?

Interesting name. Hassan Al-Banna was the founder of the original Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, in 1928. He was executed for trying to overthrow the Nasser regime in the 1950s.

But his youngest brother, Gamel Al-Banna, was a famous Egyptian liberal, trade-unionist, and lifelong advocate for separation of mosque and state. He died in January 2013, aged 93.

Gamel had some fascinating ideas about Islam. From his Wikipedia entry:

Gamal al-Banna was a strict egalitarian: Islam gives women and men the same rights and duties, and a good Muslim regards all human beings as equal, no matter what their religion is. As for the role of women in Islam, al-Banna claimed to see no reason why a Muslim woman could not take over the role of imam (female: imama, i.e. leader) in the prayer salat.