Mohamed Ahmed el-Tayeb, The current Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, considered to be the highest authority in al-Azhar Mosque and by extension Al-Azhar University, said that “the wrong fatwas regarding Eid celebration in Morocco do not express Al Azhar’s view on the matter, but rather reflects a personal opinion.”
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar stressed that “the relation between Al Azhar Muslim scholars and their Moroccan counterparts is very close and characterized by a huge mutual respect and amiability.”
“Al Azhar acknowledges the differences in moon-sighting all over the world, which leads to fasting on different days during Ramadan, the celebration of Eid al-Adha on different schedules….”
“This is well-known to Shariah scholars. It is only denied by ignorant people, even though Al Azhar aspires to unify the moon-sighting across all Arab and Muslim countries,” Tayeb further noted.
It is worth reminding that Al Azhar university officials decided to dismiss Youssef Aïd, the former secretary general of Al Azhar university’s Legal Judgement Comettee (أمين لجنة الفتوى) few days following the sweeping statement he made on the eve of Morocco celebrating Eid Al-Adha one day following Saudi Arabia and most of the Muslim world.
The Moroccan Times.
