Islamic website staff hold Cairo sit-in

Islamic website staff hold Cairo sit-in

CAIRO – More than 300 reporters for Islam Online camped out in their Cairo offices on Wednesday in objection to suspected efforts by the management in Qatar to assume editorial control of the website. 


The Qatari-based website, which has its editorial offices in Egypt, was founded by popular exiled Egyptian cleric Yusuf al-Qardawi posts news items as well as sections on Islamic lifestyle and advice from clerics. 

Hisham Gafar, an Islam Online reporter, said the protest came on Tuesday after journalists were banned from posting reports on the website.
 
He held the new board of directors for Qatar’s Al-Balagh Foundation, which owns the website, liable stressing they were meddling in editorial decisions. 

The reporters had been given assurances by Qardawi to the 240 reporters who petitioned him, as head of the board of directors, Gafar said. 

Al-Balagh officials were not immediately available for comment.