Cairo: President of state-run Islamic Al Azhar University Ahmad Hassan has been dismissed after he called a controversial Muslim researcher an “apostate”.
Grand Imam of Al Azhar Shaikh Ahmad Al Tayyeb, who supervises the seminary, decreed that Hassan be replaced, the website of the prominent Islamic institution reported.
Shaikh Al Tayyeb has asked Dean of Al Azhar Faculty of Arabic Language Hussain Al Mahrsawi to temporarily run the university until a new president is appointed, the website added without details.
Last week, Hassan branded researcher Islam Al Behery as an “apostate” on a talk show on private television station Al Qaheira Wal Nas. He accused Al Behery of denying “established rules of religion.
Later, Hassan made a public apology for what he called a “hasty, personal opinion”.
“Describing Islam Al Behery as an apostate is incorrect. This is a transgression that never expresses the approach of Holy Al Azhar,” he added in a statement.
Shaikh Al Tayyeb, an eminent Islamic scholar, has repeatedly refused to accuse anyone of apostasy.
In recent months, Al Azhar, Islam’s influential seat of learning, has been harshly criticised in the Egyptian media for allegedly not doing enough to reform religious teachings in order to help violent militancy.
Al Behery, an outspoken critic of Al Azhar, was released from prison late last year following a presidential pardon.
In 2015, a court sentenced Al Behery to one year in jail after convicting him of defaming Islam in a television programme.
Al Behery had questioned the credibility of some widely accepted sources of the Prophet Mohammad’s (PBUH) sayings, a major reference to Islamic jurisprudence.
