The United States Department of State recently issued a declaration claiming that freedom of religion in Egypt is underwhelming, saying that minorities suffer from religious discrimination in various aspects of social and political life. After this, it was announced that the Azhar and the church would issue a joint declaration to respond to the accusations.

However, the Islamic Research Academy and the Catholic Church issued separate declarations, while the Coptic Orthodox church refused to respond, saying that it is not their duty to respond as a religious institution.

Azhar spokesperson Muhammad Rafā‘ah al-Tahtāwī flatly denied that there are any tensions in the relationship between the Egyptian church and the Azhar.