During the last week of 2014, Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb demanded that Shiite authorities in Iran and Iraq issue clear fatwas strictly forbidding the insulting of Sunni figures and their sanctities. This happened during the visit of Mahmoud Mahmoudian, the new head of Iran’s Interest Desk in Egypt.

Tayeb called on Muslim scholars to “avoid strife between Sunnis and Shiites, as it is tearing the Islamic nation apart and preventing consensus and dialogue between both sects.”

Prominent Shiite authorities had issued several fatwas in the past, forbidding any sort of attack on Sunni figures and sites. These included Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s fatwa in October 2013, when he strictly forbade attacking Sunni sanctities, stating, “These are condemnable acts, and they violate the Shiite imams’ orders.” Moreover, the Supreme Guide of the Islamic Republic issued several fatwas on different occasions, in which he clearly forbade “offending Sunni figures and insulting the wives of the prophet.”

Several Shiite authorities cooperated with Tayeb’s latest request and issued several fatwas and statements forbidding insulting Sunnis. Shiite authority Hussein al-Sadr issued a detailed statement that noted, “We have reiterated that respecting religious figures and sanctities of each confession and religion is a critical duty imposed by Sharia and religious order on everyone. Besides, it is a humanitarian and moral mission before being a religious duty.”