Egypt’s Grand Imam talks about West's inter-religious dialogue

Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb stressed the importance of the dialogue between religions, particularly in the modern, globalised age to deepen commonality between people. His statement came during a meeting between a top official from the Egyptian Islamic Institute and Sweden’s Ambassador to Egypt. El-Tayeb stressed that the West uses inter-religious dialogue to achieve its interests, criticizing hypocrisy and double standards in the Western approaches to regional issues. He commented: “Western hypocrisy renders inter-faith dialogue entirely useless.” “Dialogue needs to take place between people, not politicians,” he said. “We should exchange values to pave the way for confronting abnormal ideas, including gay marriage that threatens the future of humanity.” He stressed that Abrahamic religions forbid homosexuality. He also voiced support for allowing non-Muslims turn to their religious laws to rule and to choose their religious leaders, stressing that such approach reflects the spirit of Islam and its tolerance. He added, “All other laws of state should be implemented against all people indiscriminately.” When asked about democracy in al-Azhar, the Grand Imam said: “Laws are linked closely with the Islamic law. The Senior Scholars Authority has the power to choose the Grand Imam and Egypt’s mufti in a democratic way.” Whilst the Swedish ambassador was tight-lipped about the Grand Imam’s statements, he praised al-Azhar university as a research institution that owns a wealth of Islamic documents.