Egyptian opinions varied on the annual International Religious Freedom report issued by the United States Department of State. The report claims that that minorities, such as Copts and Bahā’īs, are regularly discriminated against. Coptic activist Najīb Jabrā’īl praised the report and said that the amount of discrimination that is reported is even less than the real amount. The former head of the Egyptian Union for Human Rights, Dr. Ahmad Kamāl Abū al-Majd, called upon the nation’s leading thinkers to find a way to adopt the “citizenship principle” and to reinforce the idea of a civil state. However, various Azhar scholars insisted that the report's claims weren't true. They added that the report’s primary purpose is to create fitnah tā’ifīyah and undermine Egypt’s security and stability.

Key Words: Najīb Jabrā’īl - Dr. Ahmad Kamāl Abū al-Majd – Azhar - Shaykh Farahāt al-Minjī – Dr. Muhammad ‘Abd al-Mun‘im al-Birrī