Al Azhar, judiciary fighting to preserve independence

The judiciary and Al Azhar seek to preserve what they both see as their autonomy from the presidency, Nathan Brown and Mariam Ghanem write for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. They say both institutions are willing to act to keep that autonomy “and insist that their specific expertise be respected even if it leads in directions that do not serve the short-term desires of the country’s rulers.” Brown and Ghanem write that Al Azhar and the judiciary have caused President Abdel Fattah El Sisi headaches first “with occasional judgments that deal the regime embarrassing setbacks” and also “by insisting that it takes orders from nobody on religious law or educational reform.”