Al-Azhar University is considered a beacon of centrist, moderate Islam in Egypt. But the university is still vulnerable to criticism and responds to any critiques with an eye on its public image. That may have been the case on May 17, when the dean of Al-Azhar’s Faculty of Dentistry in Assiut, Khalid Siddiq, accepted Abanoub Guirguis Naeem, a Christian student, for a residency training program. Naeem is the first known case of a Christian student enrolling at the university.
Medical school graduates must complete a residency before they are allowed to practice professionally in public or private hospitals and clinics.