On Friday, both Rose al-Yūsuf and al-Ahrār boasted major front-page stories on the Azhar’s decision to freeze its religious dialogue with the Vatican.
Under the banner headline “Azhar Freezes Dialogue with Vatican Indefinitely,” the former reports, “The Islamic Research Academy, in clear, unequivocal language, issued a decision to freeze dialogue with the Vatican at an emergency meeting yesterday.”
The Academy, headed by Dr. Ahmad al-Tayyib, the Grand Imām of the Azhar, decided that the suspension would be for an undetermined period.
The action was taken because of the pope’s consistent criticism of Islam and his claim that Muslims persecute others who live with them in the Middle East, Rose al-Yūsuf said.
Meanwhile, according to al-Ahrār, “The Azhar denounced both governments and peoples over the suicide phenomenon that has recently spread among youth. In a separate statement it announced the freezing of the dialogue with the Vatican.”