الأزهر
al-Azhar
Group
A mosque and university in Cairo, founded about 970, and the best-known centre of Sunni learning.
What it means
Founded by the Fatimid dynasty in 970–972, Al-Azhar became a Sunni institution after the Ayyubids took Egypt in 1171. It trains scholars from across the Muslim world. Its rulings are advisory, and Muslims differ over how far they accept them.
What the sources say
Positions attributed to it, such as one on apostasy, are those of particular scholars or of an Egyptian law, and should be read as such. Its leaders have also condemned terrorism in strong terms.