Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb met with popular Egyptian Muslim televangelist Amr Khaled at the Al-Azhar headquarters to discuss how to renew religious discourse, said official sources from within Al-Azhar. Dr. Abdel-Halim Aweis, a professor of history and Islamic civilization at Al-Azhar University, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that during the meeting, the two discussed ways to renew religious discourse and to improve the performance of preachers in order to promote moderation and ensure that preachers perform their jobs for the sake of God rather than for monetary gains, said Aweis. According to Aweis, during the meeting they condemned the attack on the Church of St. Mark and St. Peter in Alexandria, emphasizing that Islamic law forbids attacks on innocent people. He went on to say that the two discussed ways to counter religious extremism and violence in all of its forms as well as how to take advantage of Khaled's "Islamic preacher" project for promoting moderation. In the meeting, Khaled affirmed that he was willing to contribute to any project led by Al-Azhar that serves da'wa or the call to Islam, the improvement of religious discourse, and the reinstatement of the religious establishment's former prominence. Meanwhile, in a brief statement to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Al-Azhar spokesman Mohamed Rafaa al-Tahtawi denied that any such meeting took place. Sources from within Al-Azhar said the denial falls in line with Al-Azhar's "official position" because Khaled is not an Al-Azhar scholar. Amr Khaled is a charismatic and moderate populist Muslim preacher known for wooing crowds of upper-middle class Egyptian youths. Despite his apolitical approach, Khaled upset Egyptian leaders with his ability to sway large groups, and many say his sermons caused a large number of young women to ditch bikinis for the Islamic veil. He spends much of his time in London due to pressure from Cairo which is wary of popular religious leaders. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
