Egypt’s Administrative Prosecutor’s Office ordered a Quran teacher to be fired from Al-Azhar religious center.
The office in a verdict said Muhammad Usfour should be sacked because of embracing Shia Islam, Akhbar-al-Aan daily reported.
The verdict has been sent to the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, to be confirmed.
Al-Azhar’s legal committee in Al-Gharbiya province had referred the case to the central legal affairs committee to see whether it is authorized for this Quran teacher to continue his work at Al-Azhar or not.
A court in the city of Kafar Al-Ziyat had previously sentenced Usfour to one year in prison for converting to Shi’ism.
So far, several of Al-Azhar’s Sunni scholars and elites have embraced Shia Islam, something that has been faced with severe opposition from Al-Azhar scholars.
One of the new Shia converts is Allameh Ahmed Amin Antaki, a graduate of Al-Azhar University.
The Shia population of Egypt is estimated to be between 800,000 and 2 million.
