Muslim Brotherhood In an article published shortly after his appointment as president of Al-Azhar University, he was described as "a regime loyalist and member of Mr. Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party [who] takes a firm stance against the Muslim Brotherhood". El-Tayeb was quoted as saying that Al-Azhar University would "
never be an open field for the Brotherhood". In 2011, following the Egyptian revolution, the
Muslim Brotherhood held a rally at the
Al-Azhar mosque to oppose what it described as the
Judaization of Jerusalem. He said at the rally that "the
al-Aqsa Mosque is currently under an offensive by the Jews" and "we shall not allow the
Zionists to Judaize al-Quds [Jerusalem]". He also alleged that Jews around the world were trying to prevent Islamic and Egyptian unity. He backed the
military coup against Egyptian President
Mohamed Morsi.
Opposition to sectarianism He has strongly rebuked the
Sunni anti-
Alawite preaching, which has increased since the Syrian
Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on the
Sunni Muslim rebels in the
Syrian Civil War.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant He has strongly condemned the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and stated that it is acting "under the guise of this holy religion and have given themselves the name 'Islamic State' in an attempt to export their false Islam" and (citing the
Quran). "The punishment for those who wage war against God and his Prophet and who strive to sow corruption on earth is death, crucifixion, the severing of hands and feet on opposite sides or banishment from the land. This is the disgrace for them in this world and in the hereafter they will receive grievous torment". He has been criticized for not expressly stating that Islamic State was heretical. The
Ash'ari school of
Islamic theology – to which El-Tayeb belongs – does not allow calling a person who follows the
shahada an
apostate.
Wahhabism and Salafism In late 2016, at
a conference of over a hundred Sunni scholars in Chechnya, El-Tayeb defined orthodox Sunnism as "the
Ash'arites and
Maturidites (adherents of the theological systems of Imam
Abu Mansur al-Maturidi and Imam
Abul Hasan al-Ash'ari) ... followers of any of the four schools of thought (
Hanafi,
Shafi'i,
Maliki or
Hanbali) and ... also the followers of the
Sufism of Imam
Junaid al-Baghdadi in doctrines, manners and [spiritual] purification." Having said that, Sheikh
Ahmad el-Tayeb excluded the “Salafis” from the term of
Ahluls Sunna (Sunnis) stating that Salafis – also known as Wahhabis – are not from among the Sunnis. In February 2019, they met again in
Abu Dhabi during the Pope's visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he also signed the
Document on Human Fraternity. On 15 November 2019, they met again in the Vatican, to achieve the goals of the signed document. This text later inspired the UN resolution that designated February 4 as the
International Day of Human Fraternity.
Women He wrote that Islam forbids Muslim women from marrying non-Muslims, because the latter do not believe in
Muhammad and his religion, meanwhile Muslim men would allow their non-Muslim women to practice their religion freely. In May 2021, he wrote on
Twitter: "A woman is permitted to assume senior positions such as in the judiciary or the issuing of
fatwas and is also allowed to travel without a guardian", then he added, "there is “no such as thing" as 'Bait Al-Ta’a' (House of Obedience) in Islam, and that guardians have "no right" to prevent women from marrying without adequate reasons." ==Awards==