Al Tayeb is an acclaimed academician

Cairo: Ahmad Mahmoud Al Tayeb, who has been named the new Grand Shaikh of Al Azhar, was born in Luxor and obtained his PhD in Islamic philosophy from the Sorbonne University in France.

With an academic career spanning over 40 years, he was the dean of several colleges at Al Azhar University. He also taught in several countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. He has to his name many books on Islamic theology and contemporary issues. In addition, he has translated several books from French into Arabic.

Since becoming President of Al Azhar, Al Tayeb has shown an interest in promoting inter-faith dialogue and promoting links with the West. Under his presidency, the state-run university has hosted several international gatherings. He has signed co-operation agreements with many prestigious institutions in the Muslim world and Europe.

In 2008, he sacked a professor at Al Azhar University for issuing a controversial fatwa demanding women breastfeed their male colleagues in the workplace so as to overcome Islamic curbs on gender mixing.