Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb has called on Egypt’s military rulers to accelerate their handover of power to civilians.
In a statement issued after meetings with political and religious forces, Tayyeb said Egypt’s army must return to its barracks as soon as possible.
He said the entire political and religious spectrum is determined to continue achieving the demands of the revolution, and added that Egypt needs national agreement that doesn’t exclude any factions.
On Wednesday, a national dialogue meeting was held at Al-Azhar — the largest institute of Islamic learning in the Sunni Muslim world — to recapture the spirit of the 25 January uprising.
Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri, Pope Shenouda III, presidential hopefuls Amr Moussa and Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh, and political groups such as the Freedom and Justice, Wafd, Social Democratic, Tagammu, Nour and Adl parties, attended.
Representatives of revolutionary youth groups, religious associations, and youth and party organizations also participated.
During the meeting, Tayyeb initiated a discussion on how Egyptians should celebrate the 25 January revolution. He also discussed Al-Azhar’s vision on how to maximize the points of agreement on the security and stability of the country, and how to avoid disputes.
On Tuesday, Al-Azhar announced a bill of rights that upheld freedom of expression and belief ahead of the drafting of Egypt’s new constitution.
The bill is a bid by the institution to assert its role as the voice of moderate Islam in the face of the growing political power of Egypt's more conservative Islamic groups.
The institution spent three months drafting the document in collaboration with secular and Islamist scholars.
