I was interested in this article by Yvonne Seng about technology and 'knowledge', featuring a quote from Tantawi:
The Daily Star - Features Articles - A quest for elusive truth in a modern world: "With no time to think and less time to contemplate, we allow the words of pundits, commentators and internet chat rooms to pass as wisdom. We value reaction rather than response ...
"Several leaders, however, voiced their concerns that technology, like knowledge, should be used for the good of mankind. As director of Al-Azhar University, the world's oldest surviving university, Grand Sheikh of Islam Tantawi says that educated and reasonable minded people - "people who think and are educated, people who are involved in their culture, good moral people" - are the key to a peaceful future for the planet.
"Islam," Tantawi says, "is on the side of progress and development." He adds that technology should be used "for the sake of humanity, not against it." Several weeks before our interview, the grand sheikh put his money where his mouth is. In a televised debate that reportedly drew more viewers than Baywatch, he trumped his opponent by declaring that in the case of death, he himself would become an organ donor."
