He said in remarks that this principled position of the grand imam of Al-Azhar reflected his keenness on the interests of the Muslim world away from differences and divisions.
The GCC chief expressed the Gulf bloc’s appreciation of the strong positions of Sheikh Al-Azhar towards GCC member countries, hoping that Iranian leadership could respond to Dr. Al-Tayeb’s call.
Egypt’s Al-Azhar had called Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states.
The call was made at two-hour talks between al-Tayeb and Ahmadinejad, urging him to "respect Bahrain as a sisterly Arab state".
He also called on the Iranian leader to ask Iranian religious leaders to issue fatwas prohibiting insulting Aisha, the wife of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Caliphs Abu Bakr, Omar ibn al-Khattab and Othman ibn Affan and Imam al-Bukhari, a Persian Sunni scholar.
