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Throughout the twentieth century, Al-Azhar held a distinctive position at the crossroads of religious scholarship, state power, and the wider Muslim world. It was not simply an institution that was either “reformed” or “controlled” by successive Egyptian governments. Instead, Al-Azhar was continually reshaped through changing relationships between scholars, rulers, reformers, and society.This talk traces these changes from the reform debates of the late nineteenth century through the rise of nationalism, Nasserism, and the postcolonial Middle East. Reform at Al-Azhar did not come only from political leaders or outside forces; scholars themselves, modernists or traditionalists, played an important role in shaping the institution. At the same time, religious authority was being reorganized through new educational, administrative, and state structures.
A major turning point came with the reorganization of Al-Azhar in 1961 under Gamal Abdel Nasser. This brought Al-Azhar more closely into the Egyptian state, while also expanding its institutions, educational activities, and public influence. Yet Al-Azhar’s closer relationship with the Egyptian state did not make it simply a national institution. Its students, graduates, scholars, preachers, and educational networks connected Cairo with Africa, Asia, the Arab world, Europe, North America, and Muslim communities across the globe.
The growing use of foreign languages in its educational and outreach activities further expanded this reach, giving students and graduates the linguistic tools to communicate, teach, and carry out religious and educational missions across different regions. Al-Azhar therefore developed a distinctive dual role: it became more closely tied to the Egyptian state while continuing to present itself, and to be recognized, as a global center of Sunni learning and religious authority.
This lecture explores this tension between religious authority and political power, national institution and global mission. It ultimately asks: How did Al-Azhar balance its role as an institution of the Egyptian state with its authority as a center of learning for the wider Sunni Muslim world?
Umar Ryad is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at KU Leuven, Belgium, where he chairs the East Asian and Arabic Studies Research Unit. His research focuses on modern Islamic intellectual history, Islamic reform and religious networks, Muslims in interwar Europe, the imperial history of the hajj and the history of Christian–Muslim relations. Ryad studied Islamic Studies in English at the Faculty of Languages and Translation of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, where he received his BA in 1998. He subsequently earned an MA in Islamic Studies, and a PhD from Leiden University in 2008. Before joining KU Leuven, Ryad was Assistant Professor at Leiden University (2008–2014) and Associate Professor at Utrecht University (2014–2017). He held an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers at Philipps-Universität Marburg (2021–2024). He has also held visiting research and teaching positions or fellowships at institutions including the universities of Bern and Oslo, the University of Bonn, the Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies, the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, and the Leibniz Institute of European History in Mainz.
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The lecture starts at 6:30 pm. We work on a first-come, first-served basis as the number of seats is limited. We open our doors at 6 pm and close them at 6:45 pm or earlier when the lecture room reaches its full capacity.
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Event venue
NVIC - Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
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