CAIRO — In Egypt, the fallout from US President Donald Trump's Dec. 6 recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has spread beyond popular and official condemnations and protests by many countries. Religious institutions in Egypt, such as Al-Azhar and the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church, are now boycotting the United States.
Al-Azhar’s first response to Trump’s announcement was swift. In an official statement on Dec. 6, Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb described Trump’s decision as denying Palestinians and Arabs the rights to their holy city. “It disregarded the feelings of more than 1.5 billion Muslims and millions of Arab Christians who are deeply attached to Jerusalem's churches and monasteries.”