Is Egypt-Saudi love affair on the rocks?
While some in Saudi Arabia are furious after the grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar spoke at a Chechen conference that condemned Riyadh, others argue that ties between the two are stronger than ever.
CAIRO — Egypt’s Al-Azhar has tried to distance itself from an Islamic conference held in the Chechen capital late last month, after the forum’s closing statement received sharp criticism for implying that Salafist and Wahhabi groups, which are prominent in Saudi Arabia, were not part of Sunni Islam.
The conference — held in Grozny Aug. 25-27 under the title “Who are the Sunnis?” — was attended by Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb and a large Egyptian delegation. While Al-Azhar officials have downplayed their role in the conference, the consequences of what happened are still unclear, particularly concerning its impact on relations between Cairo and Riyadh. The latter has been a prominent supporter of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi since the June 30, 2013, revolution.
In statements to the press Sept. 6, Abbas Shoman, the deputy sheikh of Al-Azhar, said the conference had not been sponsored by Al-Azhar, and the institution did not participate in its activities or even its closing statement. According to him, the institution’s role was limited to a speech given by Tayeb at the opening, the content of which has not been subject to criticism. In his view, Shaman said, had the conference organizers relied on Tayeb’s words in their closing statement, they would have avoided this controversy.
Speaking at the opening of the conference Aug. 25, Tayeb said that the “Sunni community” refers to Ash’aris, Maturidis and “people of the hadith” — referring to Salafists. This contradicted the closing statement, which limited the definition of Sunnis to “Ash’aris, Maturidis by belief, followers of the four jurisprudential schools of Sunnis [Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbali], and followers of pure Sufism in terms of ethics and chastity.”
