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Egypt's prestigious Al-Azhar University has accepted a Christian into its medical residency program, which some believe marks the first time the historic Muslim school has publicly accepted a Christian student. The Washington, D.C.-based Middle East news outlet Al-Monitor has reported that Abanoub Guirguis Naeem was allowed to officially enroll on May 17 by the dean of Al-Azhar's Faculty of Dentistry in Assiut, Khalid Siddiq, who confirmed his acceptance "Naeem applied to the college for a residency, and he was accepted along with other students," Siddiq told Al-Monitor. According to Al-Monitor, Naeem "is the first known case" of a Christian student...

Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. During his visit to Egypt last week, “Pope Francis visited al-Azhar University, a globally respected institution for Sunni Islamic learning,” and “met with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the imam of the government-run Al-Azhar mosque and an Islamic philosophy professor.”  This has been reported by several media and with much fanfare. The problem is that Sheikh Tayeb, once voted “world’s most influential Muslim,” and Al Azhar, the important madrassa he heads, are part of the problem, not the solution.  Tayeb is a  renowned master of exhibiting one face to fellow...

Far-right group Soldiers of Odin targeted a Muslim school in a Stockholm suburb following reports the school had segregated its children by gender on the bus. The Al Azhar school in Vällingby told newspaper Stockholm Direkt that members of the anti-immigrant vigilante group had put up propaganda stickers in the schoolyard and filmed some of their pupils. “They started filming children in the schoolyard, and then they kicked a football away from some guys. When I saw them, they were at the entrance and were putting up their stickers, and then I called the police,” said vice principal Jane Almquist....

The Pope will receive the highest authority in Sunni Islam at the Vatican on MondayPope Francis will receive the highest authority in Sunni Islam in an unprecedented meeting at the Vatican on Monday. The meeting between Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar, Cairo, and Pope Francis was revealed by Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi. Fr Lombardi said: “This audience is being prepared and has been scheduled for Monday. It will be a first.” Al-Tayeb suspended dialogue with the Holy See on behalf of Al-Azhar University in 2011. Benedict XVI had called for the protection of Christian minorities following a...

President Obama and members of his administration frequently state that there is nothing Islamic about the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), but Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday went further, labeling the Sunni terrorist group "apostates." Even the world's pre-eminent Sunni institution, Cairo's Al-Azhar, has refused to declare ISIS apostate -- on the grounds that its fighters are "believers" in Islam, however misguided or "false" their interpretation of the faith may be. ...

The seizure of Infidel girls and their use as sex slaves is sanctioned in the Qur’an. According to Islamic law, Muslim men can take “captives of the right hand” (Qur’an 4:3, 4:24, 33:50). The Qur’an says: “O Prophet! Lo! We have made lawful unto thee thy wives unto whom thou hast paid their dowries, and those whom thy right hand possesseth of those whom Allah hath given thee as spoils of war” (33:50). 4:3 and 4:24 extend this privilege to Muslim men in general. The Qur’an says that a man may have sex with his wives and with these slave...

Egypt’s Al-Azhar issued a statement Dec. 11, 2014, refusing to declare the Islamic State (IS) apostates. “No believer can be declared an apostate, regardless of his sins,” it read. Al-Azhar's statement came as a Nigerian mufti seemingly declared IS apostates at a Dec. 4, 2014, Al-Azhar conference. Al-Azhar stated that various media outlets had misrepresented the mufti's speech. The sheikh of Al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayeb, repeated his rejection of declaring IS apostates on Jan. 1, during a meeting with editors-in-chief of Egyptian newspapers. This sparked criticism from a number of religious, political and media parties, especially since Al-Azhar could have renounced...

Founded in 970 or 972 by the Fatimids as a centre of Islamic learning, its students studied the Qur’an and Islamic law in detail, along with logic, grammar, rhetoric, and how to calculate the lunar phases of the moon.[citation needed] It was one of the first universities in the world and the only one to survive as a modern university including secular subjects in the curriculum. It is today the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world Bon appetit! Al-Azhar textbook: Eating dead Jews, Christians and infidels ‘halal’ if necessary Wed, 01/04/2015 – 18:10 Al-Masry Al-Youm...

The United States urged Arab ally Egypt to pull "back from the brink" after security forces killed dozens of supporters of deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and opened a dangerous new phase in the army's confrontation with his Muslim Brotherhood... Washington, treading a fine line with an important Middle East ally and recipient of over $1 billion in military aid, urged the Egyptian security forces to respect the right to peaceful protest... U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to two senior members of Egypt's army-installed interim cabinet, expressing his "deep concern." "This is a pivotal moment for Egypt," he...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://frontpagemag.com - Muslim Cleric: ‘I Hate Christians and Am Disgusted by Them’Posted By Raymond Ibrahim On April 3, 2013 @ 12:25 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 4 Comments Dr. Abdullah Badr—an Egyptian Muslim scholar, Al Azhar graduate, and professor of Islamic exegesis, who spent ten years in prison under Mubarak, but, along with any number of Islamic terrorists and agitators, was released under Morsi—recently gave an excellent summation of the second half of the highly divisive Muslim doctrine of wala’ wa bara’ (or, “Love and Hate”)—namely, that the true Muslim should love and help fellow Muslims, while hating and...

Special Dispatch 296 – Jihad and Terrorism Studies November 2, 2001 Terror in America (22): Egypt's Al-Azhar Clerics: We declare war on America The unofficial website of Egypt's Al-Azhar University, www.lailatalqadr.com, continues to post anti-American statements made by the university's clerics and professors pertaining to the U.S. war against terrorism. Moussa Hal, a reporter for the website, compiled these statements and published them in a number of articles entitled "Islamic clerics in Egypt declare war on America."[1] The following are excerpts from the site: Hal reported that Sheikh Ali Abu Al-Hassan, head of Al-Azhar's Religious Ruling Committee, said, "It ...

Last of two parts. The leader of the local Islamic organization preparing to build a major new mosque in Boston is allegedly linked to a network of Muslim companies and charitable groups in Virginia suspected by federal investigators of providing material support to Islamic terrorists. The chairman of the board of trustees of the Islamic Society of Boston, which has city approval to construct a $22 million cultural center and mosque in Roxbury, was also a leader of an Indiana-based Muslim organization known for its anti-Western rhetoric and for providing a platform for radical Islamists, some of whom have been...

LAHORE: The grand mufti of Egypt has invited US President Barack Obama to address Muslims around the globe from Egypt’s Al Azhar mosque – one of the most important mosques in the Muslim world. Al Masri Al Yawm, an Egyptian state-run newspaper, said Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa and other clerics from Al Azhar University invited Obama to use the mosque as the venue for the president’s upcoming visit, “explaining it would promote a culture of dialogue between Islam and the West”. It is highly unusual for a non-Muslim to speak at the mosque, according to World Net Daily news website,...

TEL AVIV, Israel – The grand mufti of Egypt has invited President Obama to address Muslims around the globe from one of the most important mosques in the Islamic world. The invitation to speak from Egypt's Al Azhar mosque follows an announcement over this past weekend that Obama will travel to Egypt next month to deliver his promised address to the Muslim world. According to Al-Masri Al-Yawm, a state-run Egyptian newspaper, Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa and other scholars from Egypt's Al Azhar University invited Obama to use the mosque as venue for the president's upcoming visit, explaining it would promote...

BEIRUT, December 10, 2008 (MENASSAT) — Mohamed Sayed Tantawy, Grand Sheikh of the Islamic Al Azhar University in Egypt, has sparked controversy by suggesting that Israeli officials would be welcome at Sunni Islam's leading religious authority. Speaking to Al Arab newspaper last week, Tantawy said that Al Azhar would be open to visits by high-level Israeli political representatives if it could help strengthen the peace process. The Sheikh has come under heavy criticism from various sides for his remarks, including from the Muslim Brotherhood which has demanded that the Grand Sheikh be questioned. It is the second time in less...

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is demanding Congress investigate US Airway's removal last week of six imams from one of its flights. The Muslim-rights group claims the imams, who were behaving suspiciously, posed no threat. It's "very, very inappropriate to treat religious leaders that way," a spokesman fumed. According to CAIR, imams are as harmless as Buddhist monks and deserve no less respect. Tell that to flight attendant Kimberly Banducci. According to police reports I've obtained, the Delta Air Lines veteran was assaulted by a Muslim cleric in a bizarre attack aboard a flight from Miami International Airport three years...

Egypt: Honorary PhD to Prince Charles from al-Azhar University MENA Tuesday, March 21, 2006 CAIRO, March 21 (MENA) - Al-Azhar Univeristy on Tuesday granted British Crown Prince Charles an honorary PhD degree. President of al-Azhar University Ahmed Mohammed al-Tayib granted Prince Charles the degree at a ceremony attended by Grand Imam of al-Azhar Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi and Minister of Awqaf Hamdy Zaqzouq. Tayib expressed appreciation of the stance of Prince Charles towards Islam and Muslims and his intensive efforts for realising rapprochement among civilisations. (Description of Source: Cairo MENA in English -- government news agency) -------------------------------------- For more translations...

Al-Azhar – The Vatican Official apologies demanded Morocco TIMES 3/17/2005 | 1:35 pm Egyptian highest religious authority Al-Azhar has requested the Vatican to present official apologies on Christian crusades carried out against Muslims seven centuries ago. Sheikh Fawzi Zafzaf, President of the Interfaith Dialogue Committee of Al-Azhar, said during a press conference that his committee has sent a request to the Pope last February, demanding an official apology on Christian crusades against the Muslim world, following the example of the Jews. The principle of demanding apology from the Vatican germinated following Pope Jean Paul II's visit to Syria and...

The Story of M A Gabriel and his Indian connection The former professor of Islamic history at Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt Disillusioned at Al-Azhar Fifteen years ago I was the imam of a mosque in the city of Giza, Egypt, which is where the famous Egyptian pyramids are located. (Imam of a mosque is a position similar to pastor of a Christian church.) I preached the message of the week on Fridays from 12 to 1 in the afternoon, as well as performed other duties. One Friday the topic of my message was jihad. I told the two hundred fifty...

By Sobhy Mujahid, IOL Correspondent CAIRO, May 12 (IslamOnline.net) - Several scholars from Al-Azhar, the world's highest Sunni religious authority, condemned the decapitation of an American civilian by unknown people in Iraq, saying Islam stands against such acts. "Islam respects the human being, dead or alive, and cutting off the American's head was an act of mutilation forbidden by Islam," Ibrahim Al-Fayoumi, a member of Al-Azhar's Islamic Research Academy, told IslamOnline.net. He cited a number of verses from the holy Qur'an which affirm giving due respect to dead people regardless of their race or religion. However, Fayoumi suspected the whole...