La presidenza egiziana è stata molto veloce a scegliere il successore di sheykh Mohammed Sayyed al Tantawi, dopo la sua morte inattesa, alla testa di Al Azhar, il centro teologico più importante per l’islam sunnita. E’ Ahmed al Tayeb, che è stato rettore dell’università dal 2003 (lo avevo intervistato poco prima di lasciare il Cairo).
Su Al Ahram Weekly i primi giudizi, di Gihan Shahine. Concentrati sul fatto che il grand imam di Al Azhar è di stretta nomina presidenziale, come aveva voluto Gamal Abdel Nasser per evitare che si trasformasse in un luogo di opposizione.
Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, who has served as president of Al-Azhar University since 2003, has been appointed as Al-Azhar’s top cleric by presidential decree. The appointment of the French- educated scholar, who was also Egypt’s mufti until September 2003, has provoked mixed reactions. Whereas some have welcomed him as an enlightened scholar with a philosophical background that will allow him to improve the image of Al-Azhar, critics are nevertheless apprehensive about El-Tayeb’s affiliation with the government as a member of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and his commitment to Sufism.
Many are concerned about El-Tayeb’s tough stance against the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest opposition group, which remains officially outlawed despite popular support.
For his part, El-Tayeb has been appearing throughout the Egyptian media since his appointment, promising that Al-Azhar will work to regain its former role of uniting Muslims worldwide, and he has dismissed allegations of pressures on Al-Azhar to toe the government line.