Gamal al-Banna, a religious scholar and political activist, was born in Egypt in 1920. He is the son of Sheikh Ahmad Aburrahman al-Banna, a well-known expert on prophetic traditions, and the younger brother of Hassan al-Banna, the Founder and First Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood. In contrast to his Islamist brother, Gamal al-Banna has made a name for himself as one of the most enlightened Islamic scholars and intellectuals of our time, who has constantly challenged the basic assumptions of his society and religious community.

Gamal has long been an advocate for the separation of religion and state, stipulating that the concept of Community, or Ummah, in Islam, is not and has never been synonymous with that of the state. In this, Gamal was following the lead of his well-known predecessor, Ali Abdurraziq, who lived in the first half of the 20 th Century and whose ideas caused him to be "excommunicated" from al-Azhar University (considered by Sunni Muslims to be one of the most prestigious institutes of Islamic learning).

Gamal went further than Abdurraziq, and expressed more daring ideas with regard to the renewal of Islamic thought and traditions. These included a stark rejection of the veil as a religious obligation for women, on the basis that a woman's hair should not be considered part of her "intimate areas." For women to show their hair in public, therefore, should not be considered an illegitimate act. Gamal went on to denounce gender-based segregation in schools and various walks of life, denouncing it as an act of cruelty. He also encouraged women to take a more active part in the religious leadership, including leading public prayers.

Gamal has called for religious authorities in general to become more reflective of the larger society, and less patronizing in their attitudes towards it. Gamal rejected the moralistic censorship imposed by religious authorities on cultural and intellectual activities and on public life in general. He has also denied the notion of punishment for apostasy in Islam, and condemned attacks against liberal intellectuals and thinkers in his country and in the region that are made in the name of Islam.

Gamal is not only man of letters, he has also been an activist in the labor movement in Egypt, and took part in founding several labor unions and parties advocating for the rights of workers in Egypt. He is also a founding member of a non-governmental organization that monitors the treatment of prisoners in the country and seeks to improve their living conditions and that of their families.