CAIRO — The Turkish-Egyptian political conflict escalated Sept. 24 after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s speech to the UN General Assembly. Erdogan criticized the current Egyptian regime, describing its rise as a coup d’état. Egyptians frowned upon the statement, viewing it as interference in Egyptian internal affairs. The Egyptian diplomatic corps, highly angered by the speech, responded through official statements, which for the first time deviated from the usual diplomatic wording and accused Erdogan of funding terrorist groups.

Turkish-Egyptian tensions took on a new dimension, reaching the religious establishment of Al-Azhar, based in Cairo, after the Turkish Ministry of Religious Affairs announced its intention to build an Islamic university similar to Al-Azhar. According to Turkish officials, the university will replace Al-Azhar, whose role in the Islamic world has diminished. The move has awakened the ire of religious circles in Egypt.

President of Al-Azhar University, Abdel Hay Azab, described the Turkish announcement as a mere “joke” in a phone interview with Al-Monitor. He said, “Al-Azhar enjoys great historical value. Its influential role remained in the Arab and Islamic world for more than a thousand years. Even if Turkey was to build a hundred educational facilities and equip them with the most lavish furniture and state-of-the-art technologies, it would not be able to pull the rug from under Al-Azhar, because great historical value is not about location but position.”

“There are more than a hundred universities for religious studies in the world. Were any of them able to compete with Al-Azhar or threaten its position and role?” he asked.