In his speech made on January 24, 2010 to mark the occasion of Police Day, President Mubārak condemned the criminal attack of Naj‘ Hammādī and blamed the religious institutions who should have an enlightening discourse that urges moderation. He also stated that the intellectuals and men of knowledge and reason also shoulder the responsibility of fighting fanaticism. President Mubārak’s statements were refuted by a number of the intellectuals, who blamed the state for its withdrawal and its use of the intellectuals as a scapegoat. Muslim and Christian religious leaders also responded to the president’s argument. One Azhar Shaykh blamed the state for the degradation of the enlightening role of the Azhar and called for the selection of the Azhar’s grand imām to be made by the Azhar’s scholars and not the government. Christian figures also commented on the statements and expressed the church’s role in spreading the Gospel values of love and tolerance.