Beirut (AsiaNews) - This morning the rector of the Islamic Al-Azhar University, founded in Cairo in 970 by the Fatimids, died from a heart attack in Riyadh Airport, Saudi Arabia. He was the highest religious authority of Sunni Islam. He was 81 years.

Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi was born in Upper Egypt, in the village of Salim Al-Sharqiyyah near Tema in the province of Sohag, 28 October 1928. He learned the Koran by heart in his village. In 1944 he moved to Al-Azhar Institute in Alexandria.

He went on to study at the faculty of "Fundamentals of Religion" (Usûl al-Dîn) in 1958, graduating a year latter with a licence to teach.   On September 5, 1966 he obtained his doctorate "summa cum laude" in Exegesis (Tafsîr) and hadith.   In 1968 he was appointed professor at the faculty of the Fundamentals of Religion. In 1972 he was appointed a professor at the Faculty of Islamic and Arabic Sciences in Libya, where he spent for four years. In 1976 he was dean of the same faculty in Asyut (Upper Egypt). In 1980, he travelled to Saudi Arabia and was appointed head of the department of the Exegesis  Department at the Higher Institute of Learning at Madinah Islamic University. On returning to Egypt in 1985 he was elected Dean of the Faculty of Fundamentals of Islamic Religion at the Institute of Alexandria.   On 28 October 1986, at 58, he was appointed by President Hosni Mubarak Grand Mufti of the Arab Republic of Egypt. Finally, March 27, 1996 the President himself called him to become the rector of the Islamic University of Al-Azhar.

On 12 November 2004, Tantawi lead  prayer at the funeral of Yasser Arafat, saying among other things: "Arafat did his duty as a defender of the Palestinian cause, with courage and honesty."

He wrote several books, of particular interest: the children of Israel in the Qur'an and Sunnah (1969), Comments on the Koran (over 7000 pages in 15 volumes) (1972) The story of the holy Koran (1990) and banking transactions from the point of view of sharia (1991).  

His teachings and his  positions  

Sheikh Tantawi has been repeatedly challenged for the positions he took. I shall simply mention his decisions on women and those of a more political nature.

1. Regarding women

Regarding female circumcision, which widespread in Egypt - being an African practice that probably originated in this country - he repeatedly said it has nothing to do with Islam, but is merely a cultural tradition. His position is in radical opposition with that of his predecessor Gad al-Haqq Ali Gad al-Haqq (1917-1996).

Regarding abortion, he issued a fatwa declaring lawful abortion in cases of rape. This fatwa was provoked the reaction of the Grand Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa, who declared that Sheikh Tantawi was wrong.

Regarding the issue of the Islamic veil in France, he said that this was a political decision. As a result, Muslims in France should follow the rules of the country where they live and submit to the ban on wearing headscarves in schools and public offices. This fatwa raised a storm of protests from the Muslim Brotherhood, the Muslim Salafis and the famous Egyptian Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi. They argued that the veil for Muslim women is a fundamental obligation which can not be waived. The fatwa came out after he had met on December 30, 2003, the then French Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, declaring that this was an internal matter for France.

On October 5, 2009 Tantawi forced a girl of 14 in Azhar to remove the niqab (large black veil covering her face but also her eyes). This provoked the violent reaction of all the traditionalists. It was at the time when France was debating whether to authorize the niqab or the burqa.

Asked whether a woman can be an imam and lead the community in prayer on Friday, Tantawi replied in moderation. If it is a mixed community of men and women, then the answer is "no" because it "is not allowed that men look at the woman who stands before them." But if it is to lead the prayers of other women, then it is possible.

2. Regarding Israeli policies

On the issue of suicide bombers, Tantawi condemned outright any suicide attacks, including those against Israelis. He rejected the argument of Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi to justify these attacks, saying that all citizens were in agreement with their governments who attack Muslims, besides the fact that everyone, at one time or another, carried weapons. In 2003 he called the suicide bombers "enemies of Islam." He added: "Terrorism is the enemy of Islam, while jihad is only permissible in Islam to defend  land or to rescue the oppressed. The difference between jihad in Islam and terrorism is like the difference between earth and heaven".

On 12 November 2008, Tantawi participated in New York at the conference on dialogue among religions, organized by the UN and Saudi Arabia. In this circumstance he cordially greeted the former Israeli President Shimon Perez (pictured). This fact was repeatedly condemned in Egyptian media, and Islamic parties have demanded his resignation as rector of Al-Azhar.

On 1-2 July 2009 at the conference on dialogue between religions in Kazakhstan, Tantawi  chaired a session with Shimon Perez, at the same table. 5, in the Egyptian parliament more voices were raised calling for his expulsion from his position.

 3. Regarding U.S. policy in Iraq

In February 2003, shortly before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Sheikh Tantawi  dismissed Sheikh Ali Abul Hassan, Head of the Fatwa Committee at Al-Azhar who had issued a fatwa stating "the obligation to kill American soldiers if they entered Iraq. In this case, said the Mufti Abul Hassan, the blood of Americans and the British is permissible [that it is permissible to kill them], and any dead Muslims should be considered martyrs. "

In August 2003, Tantawi issued a decision condemning and demanding the resignation from his duties as the head of the Fatwa Committee, Sheikh Muhammad al-Nabawi'Ishsh because he had issued a fatwa declaring the interim Iraqi government illegal under sharia,. "This fatwa – he declared the occasion – does not represent the opinion of al’Azhar which does not become involved in politics nor in the policies of nations."

These are some aspects of the life and personality of Sheikh Sayyed Tantawi, rector of the most famous religious university in the Sunni Islamic world. He was accused of having given in to government pressure, and following its policies. It is very true! But this is the usual behaviour of Al-Azhar in the contemporary age, since the leaders are appointed and paid by the President of the Republic. A challenged figure then, for his positions, but a courageous figure who has sought to harmonize the demands of faith and ethics of Islam with complex situations in the contemporary world.

Requiescat in pace!