Trade Arabia reports that on Friday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak appointed Sheikh
Ahmed El-Tayeb as the head of al-Azhar to succeed Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi who died on March 10. (See prior posting.) Al-Azhar is Egypt's most prestigious institution of Islamic learning, and one of the preeminent centers of Sunni learning in the world. Sheikh El-Tayeb has been head of al-Azhar University since 2003. In a 2004 interview he stressed the importance of teaching about the diversity of the Islamic heritage and of opening channels of communication with European countries. El-Tayeb's new position places him as the leader of the entire al-Azhar, which includes educational institutions throughout Egypt.
