Top Egyptian cleric Sheik Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, whose views often drew criticism from religious conservatives and secular Muslims, died of a heart attack on Wednesday during a visit to Saudi Arabia. He was 81.
Tantawi was the grand sheik of Cairo’s Al-Azhar, the pre-eminent theological institute of Sunni Islam, the faith’s mainstream branch.
He left a mixed legacy across the Muslim world, where he was touted as a moderate scholar and supporter of women’s rights but also criticized as an appointed civil servant who merely promoted the agenda of Egypt’s government.
The sheik, who was chosen in March 1996 by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, was a revered figure among many of the world’s 1.4 billion Muslims. His rulings carried great influence, particularly in Egypt, although they did not carry the force of law.
Egypt’s state-owned Middle East News Agency said Tantawi died in Saudi Arabia, where he attended a religious ceremony. Saudi officials said he would be buried in the Baqee cemetery in Medina, near the shrine of Prophet Muhammad.
Tantawi angered radicals by supporting organ transplants, denouncing female circumcision and ruling that women should be appointed to senior judicial and administrative positions in government. At the same time, he shocked many Muslims in 2004 by siding with France in its steps to ban the hijab head covering from state schools.
The sheik was known for a quick temper and a sharp tongue. He would raise his voice at reporters who asked challenging questions, once throwing his shoe at a journalist who accused him of supporting the strengthening of ties with Israel, something most Egyptians reject.
He infuriated conservatives and human rights advocates alike late last year by barring women from wearing the full-face veil known as the niqab at Al-Azhar University.
A cleric on a TV talk show accused him of “participating in a crusade against Islam,” and there were demands for his resignation.
Many Egyptians were outraged when newspapers circulated a photograph of the sheik snatching the veil off the face of a student during a class visit at the university. He was also reported to have told the girl that she was not attractive enough to need to cover her face.
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