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Dr. Ahmad Al-Tayeb is the current imam of Al-Azhar, appointed by the former Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, in 2010. 

Al-Tayeb met the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen on Tuesday in Cairo. They reviewed current Islamic issues and discussed ways to strengthen Islamic cooperation in countering terrorism and promoting world peace. 

Al-Othaimeen also met with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Saleh Shukry and discussed the latest regional developments and how to deal with the crises in several Islamic countries.

Al-Tayeb was born in 1946 in Al-Kurna village in the governorate of Luxor. He received his basic education at Al-Azhar school, where he memorized and studied the Qur’an and Islamic major works and texts. 

He joined the college of Fundamentals of Religion in Cairo and graduated from the theology and philosophy department in 1969. He obtained his master’s and doctorate degrees from the same department.

He speaks English and French languages fluently, and he has translated several books from French to Arabic. 

Al-Tayeb is a hereditary Sufi shaykh from Upper Egypt and has expressed support for a global Sufi league.

Al-Tayeb began his academic career as a teaching assistant in the department of theology and philosophy at Al-Azhar University in 1969. 

He became a lecturer in 1977 and an associate professor in 1982. Since January 1988, he had been a professor of philosophy at Al-Azhar University.

In addition to his academic career, Al-Tayeb served as the Grand Mufti of the Arab Republic of Egypt from March 2002 until September 2003. He became president of Al-Azhar University in September 2003 until he was appointed in 2010 as Grand Imam of Al-Azhar.