Cairo -

12 years have passed since the Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb assumed his duties in March 2010, which is the anniversary that Al-Azhar Sheikhdom celebrated this year in a remarkable way, which opened the door to stand at this period in which the Sheikh of Al-Azhar had a remarkable presence and sparked controversy until now. .

Observers who spoke to "Al Jazeera Net" believe that those years witnessed a disagreement about the performance of Sheikh Al-Azhar, between his positives and his good positions, and positions that some of them see as negative, stressing the importance of waiting for his next positions for a fair evaluation.

Busy years

In this context, the President of Al-Azhar University, Muhammad Al-Mahrasawi, believes in an official statement that Al-Tayyib's 12 years "will be written by history with letters of light," as he put it.

Al-Mahrasawi believes that the Al-Azhar Foundation - both inclusive and university - headed by Al-Tayeb, witnessed an unprecedented renaissance at all levels locally, regionally and internationally, and was full of giving and achievements, which confirm the universality of Al-Azhar's message and that it is the soft power of Egypt.

In the opinion of the head of the main Fatwa Committee at Al-Azhar and his former deputy, Abbas Shoman, Al-Tayeb did not keep Al-Azhar away from reality.

In press statements, he indicated that he had introduced modern technology into the educational and institutional process to keep pace with the times.

Hold the stick by the third

The former parliamentarian and politician Gamal Heshmat believes that Sheikh Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb has good positions, but they were not completed and fairness requires waiting, according to his description of Al-Jazeera Net.

Heshmat says, "He is in front of me holding the stick from a third in the direction of the ruling regime. He has good positions, but they are not complete, and he did not announce a sharp position towards the fateful issues. Therefore, fair speech about his serious positions cannot be generalized, and criticism of some of his actions cannot be generalised."

He expresses his anticipation for what is to come for the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, saying, "I think that if the current regime continues, the Sheikh will be the last respected Sheikh of Al-Azhar, so he must be more clear about what is happening in Egypt of grievances, corruption and tyranny, explaining Islam's peremptory opinion," as he put it.

Heshmat, Sheikh of Al-Azhar, calls for steadfastness in the face of what he described as a fierce campaign against everything that is definitive and proven in faith and morals, based on his role in preserving religion and its constants before all Egyptians and Muslims.

The good former parliamentarian warns against being silent in this regard, saying, “Silence here is treason, because he will understand that it is an endorsement of everything that contradicts religion, such as anomalies, thoughts and behavior, and perhaps what happens in Ramadan requires a clearer stand against the corrupt drama that corrupts people’s beliefs and morals in this holy month. ".

Pros and Cons

For his part, Professor of Maqasid al-Shari’a, Wasfi Abu Zaid, believes that al-Tayyib has his good and good attitudes, such as preserving the Islamic heritage, his refusal not to approve oral divorce, his refusal to declare the Islamic State to be atonement despite the scourge that it has brought upon the nation, and his continuous defense of the Palestinian cause and Palestine, which was on the level of the event. In addition to cutting off dialogue with the Vatican at the time of transgression against the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Abu Zaid says that the man has "negative positions that he must disavow and at least announce the error of his assessments, including his participation in supporting the coup on July 3, 2013, a position that brought many disappointments to Egypt, in addition to his silence on the storming of a university." Al-Azhar with the onset of the political crisis, besides that he was a member of the Policies Committee during the era of ousted President Hosni Mubarak before he left it.

Controversy and battles

The Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, completed 12 years as the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar on March 19.

Politically, al-Tayyib went through a number of regimes, as he was a member of the ruling National Party under the leadership of the late President Hosni Mubarak. Some took al-Tayeb for his famous statement about the National Party, when he was asked about which is more important to him, Al-Azhar or the ruling party?

He said, "I cannot say which is more important, for it is like a question: which is more important, the sun or the moon."

On January 25, 2011, a popular revolution overthrew Mubarak, during which al-Tayyib was subjected to severe attacks and successive accusations because of some of his statements opposing the revolution and his prohibition of demonstrations at the time.

But after the overthrow of Mubarak, the Sheikh of Al-Azhar continued to improve his positions, and in recent years he was keen to congratulate officials on the "25 January revolution" and the Police Day corresponding to the same day.

In the aftermath of the revolution, Al-Azhar issued two documents: “The Future of Egypt” on June 19, 2011, and the “Basic Freedoms System” document on January 8, 2012, in an attempt that some considered to restore Al-Azhar’s balanced reference in the public scene at the time.

Politics and blood

One of the prominent political stations in the Sheikh of Al-Azhar’s career was his participation in the announcement of the July 3, 2013 statement that overthrew the first elected civilian president, the late President Mohamed Morsi.

But El-Tayeb quickly recorded his rejection of the bloodshed in the Republican Guard incidents at dawn on July 8, 2013, in which 61 people were killed and more than 435 others were injured, according to unofficial statistics. And that he will perform i'tikaf in his house so that every official will bear responsibility for the bloodshed.

He also recorded his position in refusal after the "Rabaa al-Adawiya massacre", in which hundreds of Morsi's supporters were killed. Al-Tayeb confirmed in an audio statement broadcast on state television that he was only aware of the sit-in dispersal procedures through the media, and that he was about to prepare an initiative to try to solve the crisis between the two parties. conflicting parties.

Al-Tayeb reiterated his warning against the use of violence and bloodshed among Egyptians, stressing that dialogue, restraint and giving the voice of reason the only way to achieve comprehensive reconciliation, calling for Al-Azhar not to be involved in the political conflict.

Intellectual battles

Al-Tayeb continued his presence amid controversy in public affairs, until the matter came to a debate with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on the air, until Al-Sisi jokingly told him, "You have tired me (you tired me), O honorable Imam."

The dispute came with regard to the Sheikh of Al-Azhar’s rejection of Sisi’s call to disregard oral divorce, as well as Al-Tayyib’s defense of the Islamic heritage and the Prophet’s Sunnah, attacking what he described as “the outcries that have consistently questioned the value of the Prophet’s Sunnah and its evidence and authority and challenged its narrators.” He also attacked the calls. Demanding the exclusion of the Sunnah altogether and in detail from the circle of legislation and rulings and relying solely on the Holy Qur’an.

Which prompted Sisi to say that "the problem in our Islamic world currently is not whether or not following the Sunnah of the Prophet. These are the sayings of some people, but the problem is the misreading of the principles of our religion, and this is the fourth or fifth time that I speak with you, as a Muslim person and not as a ruler."

Al-Sisi asked, "Who has offended Islam more: the call to abandon the Prophetic Sunnah and be satisfied with the Qur'an only, or the misunderstanding and extreme extremism? What is the reputation of Muslims in the world now?"

The Sheikh of Al-Azhar is attacked from time to time by writers and media professionals who describe themselves as enlighteners, claiming that Al-Tayyib stands as an obstacle to what they describe as the renewal of religious discourse, the latest of which was the claim of some of them that Al-Tayyib has no problem in beating wives.

This prompted a response from Al-Azhar newspaper, which criticized attempts to distort Al-Tayeb's opinion, ignored his categorical statement in criminalizing domestic violence, and cut the context to export an incorrect image of Al-Azhar and its sheikh.

Last year, Egyptians watched Al-Tayyib criticize Cairo University President Muhammad Al-Khasht in the context of talking about the renewal of religious discourse. Al-Tayeb said, “We buy weapons to kill each other, we buy death with our money, and we cannot make a tire for a car.” On another problem, he added, "A lot of what is said about heritage criticism is outbidding on heritage."

Palestine and Interfaith Dialogue

Externally, Al-Tayyib stood out in defense of the Palestinian cause, and scored many positions in its favour. The language of the sheikh’s statements during his reign, according to strong observers, became strong against the Israeli occupation, in support of the liberation of Palestine and the support of Gaza and Jerusalem.

Al-Tayyib also cared for Muslims in Africa, and sent many missions and grants according to official statements of the sheikhdom.

He also rejected Islamophobia in the West, calling for support for human fraternity in many situations, which was recorded in the document "Human Fraternity for World Peace and Coexistence" signed by Al-Tayeb and Pope Francesco, Pope of the Catholic Church on February 4, 2019.

In 2011, Al-Tayeb announced the suspension of the work of the Interfaith Committee with the Vatican, in response to Pope Benedict XVI's statements that Christians suffer persecution in the Middle East.

And at the end of last year, the Sheikh of Al-Azhar said that the call for the so-called “Abrahamic religion” is a call to confiscate freedom of belief, faith and choice, stressing that people’s meeting on one religion or one divine message is impossible, pointing to the difference between respecting and recognizing the faith of the other, and that this does not It means dissolving the differences between faiths, religions and religions.

He pointed out, "We have not seen this new Brahimi baby until this moment, and we do not know anything about its features and features, and is it intended for believers in religions to cooperate on the commonalities and noble human values ​​between them, or is it intended to create a new religion that has no color, taste or smell?"

In contrast to the official media, social networking sites witnessed a degree of celebration of al-Tayyib, and the official page of Al-Azhar published a renewed profile of al-Tayyib. It witnessed the renewal and development of the most prominent religious institution in the Islamic world.

Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb was born in the Deshna area in Qena Governorate (south) in 1946. He joined Al-Azhar education until he obtained a bachelor’s degree in doctrine and philosophy in 1969 from Al-Azhar University, a master’s degree in 1971, and a doctorate in 1977.

In September 2003, Al-Tayeb assumed the presidency of Al-Azhar University, and before that the position of Fatwa for the Egyptian home in March 2002. Since March 19, 2010 Al-Tayeb has been the Sheikh of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif.

Twelve years of renewal and development for the most prominent religious institution in the Islamic world, until Al-Azhar regained its pioneering role in education and advocacy at home and abroad with its correct scientific method, and it was the subject of great interest and appreciation from the whole world.. God bless Al-Azhar Al-Sharif..and bless the efforts of Imam_Al-Tayyib.

— Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam (@m_abdelsallam) March 19, 2022

On this day, March 19, 2010;

A decision was issued to appoint the Grand Imam, Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Sheikh of Al-Azhar, to be the 48th Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque, succeeding Dr. Muhammad Sayed Tantawi.

12 years of supporting Islam... in the presence of the Sheikh of moderation and moderation, the "good Imam"


, may God preserve the Great Imam pic.twitter.com/IKscaJBCtC

— mousa eldeeb (@mosa_eldeeb) March 19, 2022