 Al @-@ Azhar continues to hold a status above other Sunni religious authorities throughout the world , and as Sunnis form a large majority of the total Muslim population al @-@ Azhar exerts considerable influence on the Islamic world as a whole . In addition to being the default authority within Egypt , al @-@ Azhar has been looked to outside of Egypt for religious judgments . Prior to the Gulf War , Saudi Arabia 's King Fahd asked for a fatwa authorizing the stationing of foreign troops within the kingdom , and despite Islam 's two holiest sites being located within Saudi Arabia , he asked the head sheikh of al @-@ Azhar instead of the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia . In 2003 , Nicolas Sarkozy , at the time French Minister of the Interior , requested a judgment from al @-@ Azhar allowing Muslim girls to not wear the hijab in French public schools , despite the existence of the French Council of Islam . The sheikh of al @-@ Azhar provided the ruling , saying that while wearing the hijab is an " Islamic duty " the Muslim women of France are obligated to respect and follow French laws . The ruling drew much criticism within Egypt as compromising Islamic principles to convenience the French government , and in turn the Egyptian government . 
