Egyptian journalist Ibrahim Issa commented on the criticism sought after his controversial remarks, which began with his denial of isra and al-Maraj, and then praised the reverence of the cow through his denial of taraweeh prayers.
"When a statement comes out accusing you of blasphemy and ridicule of the verses of the Qur'an, this is foolish talk, and I don't know who drafted the statement, is it a party or administration inside Al-Azhar, and does it take directions from anyone, and was this in the imam's flag, the statement is full of anger, violence, hatred, fraud and distortion, and some boast that he has not seen the work, so what do you think of criticism?
He added: "The statement (issued by Al-Azhar) responds to every sentence in it, and I do not know if they wrote these words ignorantly or ignored, you are the author of these words incitement or discussion, he wants to try anyone who tried to ask questions."
Al-Azhar's Fatwa Center published a strongly worded statement warning against tarnishing the image of clerics, after the Egyptian series "Faten Amal Harbi" has sparked considerable controversy since the premiere of its first episodes, written by Ibrahim Issa because of its rejection of the personal status law, and its inappropriate display of the cleric from al-Azhar's point of view.