Al-Azhar

Grand imam of Egypt's Al-Azhar rejects meeting with US VP

Cairo - Muslimchronicle

Al-Azhar's Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb cancelled a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence after President Donald Trump's move to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Al-Azhar said Friday. In a statement, Al-Azhar, Egypt's highest Sunni institution, said Tayeb had reversed his previous decision to meet Pence, who is due to travel to Egypt and Israel in the second halfRead more

Terrorist attack hit a mosque in Arish killing scores of people

Cairo - Essam Mohamed, Mohamed Seleim & Mina Samy

Armed assailants killed at least 85 people in an attack on a mosque in Egypt's volatile northern Sinai Peninsula during Friday prayers, MENA state news agency said, citing an official source. At least 80 more people were wounded in the attack that targeted worshipers near the Sinai capital of el-Arish, the report said. According to the Egyptian health ministry, thereRead more

Al-Azhar imam suspended, apologizes for singing Umm Kulthum song

Cairo - Muslimchronicle

An imam at Egypt’s Al-Azhar University has publicly apologized after being suspended from his job and subjected to massive criticism for singing on TV while wearing his religious uniform. “I appreciate the feelings of those who had been disturbed by my singing,” wrote Sheikh Ehab Younes on his Facebook page. The imam was on an Egyptian talk show last weekRead more

Al-Azhar takes up anti-terrorism fight through kiosk on Cairo metro station

Cairo - Muslimchronicle

Two elderly sheikhs have set up shop at a kiosk in one of Cairo’s busiest underground stations, ready to dole out religious advice to commuters queueing outside. It is the latest attempt by Al-Azhar university, Egypt’s highest religious authority and one of the world’s most eminent seats of Sunni Muslim learning, to touch base with the wider public and counterRead more

Egypt sets up national council to fight terrorism

Cairo - Muslimchronicle

Egypt established a national council for combating terrorism on Wednesday, giving it broad authority to set policies aimed at “fighting extremism,” a presidential decree stated. Egypt has been battling an Daesh-led insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula that has killed hundreds of soldiers and police officers since 2013, though attacks have increasingly moved into the mainland in recent months. After twoRead more

After Egypt church bombings, Copts complain of extremists

Cairo - Arab Today

For years, Egyptian Copt Michel Fahmy could hear a Muslim preacher invoking God's wrath on Christians in sermons blared over loudspeakers from a mosque near his home. The radical message, he says, is a reason for jihadist attacks on his minority like the twin bombings of churches on Sunday that killed 45 people. Sunday's attacks followed a December 11 suicideRead more

Egyptian belly dancer to host ‘religious TV show

Cairo - Arab Today

Prominent Egyptian belly dancer Sama el-Masry has said that she has signed a contract with a satellite TV channel to present a religious program during Ramadan, tackling the issue of the disobedience of the parents. The announcement sparked discontent in Egypt, particularly with al-Azhar, one of the leading Sunni Muslim authorities based in Cairo. The dancer told Al Arabiya thatRead more

63 percent of Egyptians against verbal divorce

Cairo - Arab Today

At least 63 percent of Egyptians are against undocumented verbal divorce, in which Muslim men may divorce their wives without going through a court of law, a new poll has shown. The survey showed that only 16 percent support undocumented divorce and 21 percent said they are undecided, a poll conducted by the Egyptian Center for Public Opinion Research (Baseera).Read more

Al-Azhar sheikh calls for action on Islamophobia at Cairo inter-faith conference

Cairo - Arab Today

The head of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayyeb, called on religious institutions in the East and West to act against Islamophobia, telling faith leaders at a Cairo conference that Islam “is not the reason for wars.” El-Tayyeb was giving a speech to a conference on international freedom and citizenship in Cairo on Tuesday which is being attended by religious representativesRead more

Egypt's Al-Azhar, Vatican resume dialogue sessions after 7-year hiatus

Cairo- Arab today

Egypt's Al-Azhar and the Vatican have resumed dialogue sessions in Cairo — focused in particular on combining efforts to combat religious extremism and terrorism — for the first time since the sessions were halted in 2010. A special seminar held at Al-Azhar University Wednesday was attended by a range of Al-Azhar scholars and Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of theRead more