Abanoub Guirguis Naeem, a Christian dental student was recently granted admission to complete his final year of experiential training at Al-Azhar\u2019s Faculty of Dentistry in\u00a0Assiut, an unprecedented rarity\u00a0in the prestigious Islamic University.<\/p>\n
Naeem is the first recognized\u00a0case of a Christian student enrolling\u00a0at Al-Azhar University, which is considered a beacon of\u00a0centrist, moderate Islam\u00a0in Egypt.\u00a0 The 1,000-year-old seat of Sunni Islamic learning has been training clerics and scholars from around the world, and is known to only accept Muslim students into its colleges for educational purposes.<\/p>\n
Naeem graduated from Nahda University in Beni Suef and as a medical school graduate he is obliged to complete\u00a0a two-month or one-year residency before being allowed to practice in hospitals.<\/p>\n
However, as numerous private universities do not provide their students seats for the residencies needed to complete their medical bachelor, students instead opt to seek residencies in government-run hospitals, like in Cairo University, Ain Shams University and Al-Azhar University\u00a0\u2014 as in Naeem\u2019s case.<\/p>\n
According to Khalid Seddiq, the dean of the faculty of dentistry at Al-Azhar University in Assiut, Naeem along with four of his Muslim colleagues sent their applications for\u00a0a one-year residency to the faculty earlier in May.<\/p>\n
\u201cI signed and approved his papers, just like the rest of his colleagues. I did not care if he is a Christian or a Muslim. What is really important to me is to know if he is an Egyptian student of good academic standing or not. This is what really matters,\u201d Seddiq said, adding that if he hadn\u2019t it would have been a clear case of religious discrimination, which is against Al-Azhar\u2019s code of ethics.<\/p>\n
The regulations for the faculty of dentistry of experiential training read: \u201cStudents of excellence training from all public and private universities in Egypt are to be granted, annually, admission into the faculty in early May, provided that the faculty\u2019s eligibility requirements are met. Our faculty is an equal opportunity venue and we welcome all dental training students of excellence to join the cohort of dental students we receive every year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Naeem\u2019s admission came after\u00a0MP\u00a0Mohammad Abu Hamed\u00a0called for Al-Azhar\u2019s scientific colleges to be brought under the jurisdiction of Egypt\u2019s Higher Council for Universities. Abu Hamed said that by doing so, it would allow all citizens, Muslims and Christians, to study\u00a0secular subjects in Egyptian universities.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Al-Azhar\u2019s spokesman Abbas Shouman, he said there is no rule that prevents any Egyptian from studying at Al-Azhar, yet the enrollment requirements are usually only met by Muslims, he noted; however, that there is a clear distinction between attending the university as a student and as a resident.<\/p>\n
Students who study at Al-Azhar learn religious modules such as jurisprudence, Islamic law and Quranic studies throughout their lectures; the residency on the other hand is a form of experiential training, it\u2019s just practical work, Shouman explained.<\/p>\n
Seddiq, the dean of Al-Azhar\u2019s Faculty of Dentistry in Assiut, added that Naeem applied to the college in May and was accepted, stressing that he was not the first Christian student to train in Al-Azhar, but he did not\u00a0name others.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany Christians have taken part in training courses organized over the past few years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Shoman publicized his admission in TV comments to MBC Egypt\u2019s \u201cYahduth fi Misr\u201d call-in show. He said: \u201cNaeem was accepted\u00a0for\u00a0training at Al-Azhar thanks to the university\u2019s transparency and its openness to all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Naeem\u2019s case sparked online discussions with many suggesting that Al-Azhar may be using his case to respond to repeated criticisms and improve the university\u2019s shaken image.\u00a0Media figures like Islam El-Beheiry and Ibrahim Eissa have repeatedly accused the institution of teaching curricula that include fatwas deemed to be extreme, encouraging terrorism and condemning other religions.<\/p>\n
(Egypt independent)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Abanoub Guirguis Naeem, a Christian dental student was recently granted admission to complete his final year of experiential training at Al-Azhar\u2019s Faculty of Dentistry in\u00a0Assiut, an unprecedented rarity\u00a0in the prestigious Islamic University. Naeem is the first recognized\u00a0case of a Christian student enrolling\u00a0at Al-Azhar University, which is considered a beacon of\u00a0centrist, moderate Islam\u00a0in Egypt.\u00a0 The 1,000-year-old […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7863],"tags":[2486,9816,9817],"class_list":["post-13288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-section","tag-al-azhar","tag-christian","tag-dental-resident"],"yoast_head":"\n