The Iraqi Shiite Endowment Diwan (Office), announced Friday that it had invited the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayeb, to visit Iraq and meet the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the Anadolu news agency reported. "The head of the Shiite Endowment Diwan, Saleh al-Haidari sent a formal invitation to the Grand Imam of l-Azhar to visit Iraq and meet with scholars from various Islamic schools," the deputy head of Shiite Endowment, Ali al-Khatib, told Anadolu, without specifying when the invitation had been sent. "We ask Al-Azhar to look closely at the situation in Iraq," Khatib said. "We need to put an end to sectarianism, which contravenes Islam's principles." Khatib added that Iraq's Shiite Endowment was ready to welcome the head of the leading Sunni institution in the world and was waiting for Al-Azhar's confirmation. He said that a meeting between the Grand Imam and the Grand Ayatollah would boost the unity of Muslims in Iraq. So far, Al-Azhar has not commented on the Shiite Endowment's invitation. Last January, Saleh al-Haidari stated that he had asked Sheikh al-Tayeb to visit Iraq, during his visit to Cairo three years ago, and the Sunni leader was compliant, but conditions were unsuitable at the time.
