In 1927, to throw his detractors off-balance, Rida wrote that the "Wahhabis" had become a large group in Egypt, with adherents among the religious scholars of al-Azhar and other religious institutions, thanks to the guidance of "al-Manar". Claiming that his journal promoted a Wahhabi approach to Islam was a bold and ironic way of siding with the Najdis while making the point that they did not deserve to be stigmatized. Rida had already started to adopt some of the Wahhabis' more uncompromising attitudes to religious reform.