Egypt should establish a democratic state based on a constitution that satisfies all Egyptians, Al-Azhar announced in a document released Monday. “There should be a democratic system that is based on elections to achieve concepts for Islamic consultation and penalizing officials,” Ahmed al-Tayyeb, Al-Azhar’s grand sheikh, said in a press conference.

Cohen fails to mention that the “Saudi preacher” he refers to is Sheikh as-Sudais, a leading imam at Islam’s holiest sanctuary in Makkah. The remarks attributed to him have never been uttered at the East London Mosque and I have no hesitation in dissociating myself and our mosque from such views.

The Masjid Manhattan occupies a narrow basement with bare pipes snaking along the ceiling. The congregants who filled up the mosque near City Hall on Thursday night were mainly men, from South Asia, West Africa and the United States, and a few women — who prayed behind a partition.