The head of Egypt's Al-Azhar university, the 1,000-year-old seat of Sunni Muslim learning, has been replaced after describing a leading Islamic researcher as an apostate, official media reports said on Saturday. Al-Azhar said its Grand Imam, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, had named Mohamed Hussein al-Mahrsawy, dean of the Arabic language faculty, as the university's acting president following the resignation of Ahmed Hosny and pending the appointment of a permanent successor. The ahramonline news site said Hosny had quit after being criticised for describing researcher Islam El-Behery, known for controversial interpretations of Islamic jurisprudence, as an apostate.

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