The widely read and influential Islamic news website Islam Online was on the brink of collapse yesterday after a mass walkout and strike in its Cairo-based newsroom.

More than 300 employees of the site, which is run by a Qatar-based religious non-governmental organization, were negotiating a severance deal that could gut the website’s staff.

“By Sunday there probably won’t be an Islam Online. It will be an empty building,” a striking employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.