Ahmed el-Tayeb

Ahmed Muhammad Ahmed el-Tayeb (أحمد محمد أحمد الطيب) is the current Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and president of al-Azhar University. He was appointed by the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, following the death of Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy in 2010. He is considered to be one of the most moderate Sunni clerics in Egypt. El-Tayeb holds a Ph. D in Islamic philosophy from the Paris-Sorbonne University, and has been president of Al-Azhar University since 2003. Between 2002 and 2003, el-Tayeb served as Grand Mufti of Egypt. El-Tayeb is a Sufi.

2011 Muslim Brotherhood rally
In 2011, following the Egyptian revolution, the Muslim Brotherhood held a rally at the Al-Azhar mosque to oppose what it described as the Judaization of Jerusalem. El-Tayeb spoke at the rally, saying "the al-Aqsa Mosque is currently under an offensive by the Jews" and "we shall not allow the Zionists to Judaize al-Quds [Jerusalem]". He also alleged that Jews around the world were trying to prevent Islamic and Egyptian unity. The rally was criticized by the New York Daily News as antisemitic.

Membership in National Democratic Party
Prior to his appointment as the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and president of al-Azhar University, Ahmed el-Tayeb was a member of the former Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party Policies Committee. The Committee was chaired by Mubarak's son Gamal. El-Tayeb, firstly, refused to resign from his position in National Democratic Party, citing no contradiction between his role at Al-Azhar and membership of the NDP.

El-Tayeb's attitude has met strong criticism from both media and different parts of Egyptian society, who identified his political role to be a threat to the independence of his religious office. In a move that has contradicted his earlier statements, El-Tayeb declared his resignation from his post in NDP pending president Mubarak's approval. Mubarak's acceptance of el-Tayeb's decision has followed.

Relationship with Muslim Brotherhood
In the article published by The National UAE newspaper after his appointment as the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and president of al-Azhar University, el-Tayeb has been described as “a regime loyalist and member of Mr Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party and takes a firm stance against the Muslim Brotherhood.”

El-Tayeb was quoted saying that that the Al-Azhar university would "never be an open field for the Brotherhood" to spread their political or religious agendas. The statement came as el-Tayeb's response to a military-style parade allegedly organized by Al-Azhar University students belonging to the Brotherhood inside the university's campus in 2006.

However, it was reported in the same article that the Muslim Brotherhood's leader, Mohammed Badie has congratulated el-Tayeb on his appointment. At the same time, the Brotherhood senior member, sheikh Sayed Askar, also an Azharite, accused the government of “promoting one of its own at the expense of people better suited to the post”. Askar was quoted saying: “The Egyptian regime has no shame, it looks for its supporters to reward them with certain posts, ignoring those who really deserve them, as the regime only cares about its interests, not that of the citizens or the institutions.”

The accusation against el-Tayib have intensified after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. Reportedly, some Muslim Brotherhood members accused el-Tayeb of being “a remnant of the ousted Mubarak regime and National Democratic Party.”

On 3 July 2013, el-Tayeb backed the removal from office of Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi's removal, a move viewed by the Muslim Brotherhood as a Coup d'état orcestrated by the Egyptian military against democratically elected president. Earlier, el-Tayeb has also declared peaceful demonstrations against the president to be permitted.

Sunni-Shia Relations
He has strongly rebuked the Salafi anti-Shia preaching that has increased since the Syrian civil war.