Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Friday named Ahmed Tayeb as the new head of Al Azhar, Sunni Islam's most influential institution, which includes a university and a research center. Tayeb has presided over Al Azhar's university since 2003 and will succeed Sheik Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, who died of a heart attack on March 10.Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Friday named Ahmed Tayeb as the new head of Al Azhar, Sunni Islam's most influential institution, which includes a university and a research center. Tayeb has presided over Al Azhar's university since 2003 and will succeed Sheik Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, who died of a heart attack on March 10.
Tayeb was Egypt's grand mufti for a short period between 2002 and 2003. He is considered to be one of the more enlightened Egyptian Sunni clerics, as he speaks fluent English and French and has a PhD in Islamic philosophy from France's Sorbonne University.
He is known for his moderate and progressive opinions and was previously criticized by some Azhar sheiks and professors for preferring modern suits to the traditional cloaks worn by nearly all Azhar leaders. His views are seen as coinciding with the Mubarak government's efforts at strengthening mainstream Islam against radical voices.
do you think this guy is really a moderate? think again....
Ahmad Al-Tayyeb Explains Wife Beating in Islam
(To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1478.htm.)
Ahmad Al-Tayyeb: "With regard to wife beating... In a nutshell, it appeared as part of a program to reform the wife. [According to the Koran], first 'admonish them,' [then] 'sleep in separate beds, and beat them.'"
Interviewer: "I think we must stress that this pertains to a rebellious woman..."
Where are the feminists like Gloria Steinem? do they care... no they are too busy claiming that penis is vagina... but only in Western countries. When we question it here is is cultural imperialism.
but of course this guy is just more of the same Juden Hass Anti-Zionist freak as the guy before him. But Obama will still enable and tolerate a guy like this.
Egypt's Mufti: We Condemned the September 11 Attacks, But Since Then Our Feelings Have Changed
Our Feelings Have Changed Regarding September 11
Q: "Is what happened on September 11 in the U.S. a kind of terror?"
Mufti Al-Tayyeb: "All the Muslims, and the Arab world, rejected and condemned the event, because they wouldn't want it to happen to them, so they don't want it to happen to others. We say this because Islam prohibits such attacks on peaceful civilians. But the truth is that our feelings have changed somewhat, or considerably, because we have discovered that the American administration used this event [i.e. September 11] as a pretext to cause damage, killing, and exile throughout the entire Islamic world - and I refer primarily to Afghanistan and Palestine. Today, we still read in the Western [newspapers] that the perpetrator [of the September 11 attacks] cannot be determined with certainty, yet it was claimed from the first moment that Osama bin Laden was responsible!"
Israelis Might Have Done It
"Several days ago, we saw on television a group of Israelis deported from America because they had filmed the event - that is, they knew it was going to happen. I am not saying that the event was perpetrated by the Jews, the Muslims, or anyone else; these are things we do not know. But if it is not easy to determine who carried out the deed, how is it that the Afghan people was destroyed because of an accusation that is as yet unproven?
"…The U.S. used these events as a pretext and an excuse to destroy the Islamic world and to accuse Islam of being a religion of terror and extremism. It destroyed Afghanistan and is now occupying the land of Palestine, killing the people and massacring the children, because of these false charges."
"It is the Palestinians' Right to Blow Up whatever They Want"
Q: "You said that what happened on September 11 was a crime. Aren't the Palestinians doing the same thing?"
Mufti Al-Tayyeb: "No. The situation is completely different. What the Palestinians are doing is self-defense, defense of their religion and their homeland. They are responding to the killing and to a barbaric enemy. This situation is different than what happened in America."
Q: "Does this mean that killing Israeli civilians is permitted according to Islamic law?"
Mufti Al-Tayyeb: "I will tell you: If Israel existed within its borders and was not occupying the West Bank, and the Palestinians were entering, destroying, and killing Israelis - I would tell you that this was forbidden. But if Israel is the aggressor and the American government is behind it, and the West stands by observing, it is the Palestinians' right to blow up whatever they want. I ask [the French]: If, say, Germany were to again attack France and occupy your land, would they refrain from resisting?"
via memri.org
