Golden Genius Garden

In a brief interview today (عربي) with Al-Masry Al-Youm, Tayeb pledged to work for "national unity" and to "improve dialogue" between civilizations and cultures.

"I was stunned by the choice," he said, promising to do his best to improve Al-Azhar and improve its international position. "I want to focus on the important things in this position: Continuing the improvements made by my predecessor, and follow a moderate path."

Tayeb is often dubbed a moderate in the press. He's made a number of public statements focusing on the need for dialogue with the West. In a 2004 interview with Egypt Today (my former employer!), Tayeb said the "Islamic discourse was in dire need of a review." He blamed the poor relations between the West and the Muslim world on the legacy of colonialism.

The Islamic belief system by definition recognizes the "other" and encourages interaction with the other. Differences between people, whether in religious beliefs, thought, language or emotion, are a basic Quranic tenet. God created diverse peoples. Had He wanted to create a single ummah, He would have, but He chose to make them different until the day of resurrection. Every Muslim must fully understand this principle. A relationship based on conflict is futile.

He's also stressed Al-Azhar's role as a bastion of "moderate" Sunni learning. From that same interview:

By definition, Al-Azhar can never be a breeding ground for radicals and extremists. I didn't make this statement our communist brothers in the Shura Council did. When they compiled a list of the most notorious extremists, only one blind man was an Azharite, and he doesn't even live in Egypt. President Mubarak himself pointed to this fact.

You can probably guess how Tayeb feels about the Muslim Brotherhood: In 2006, he likened members of the group (عربي) to Hamas or Hizballah (a false comparison, since the Brotherhood renounced violence decades ago); in 2007, Tayeb said he didn't want Brotherhood members (عربي) at Al-Azhar.

Readers: What other notable public statements has Tayeb made? Has he weighed in on the other controverisal issues that defined Tantawi's tenure (banking reform, the hijab, etc.)?

Update: Another Tayeb quote I dug up -- this one from Egypt's state-run Al-Ahram in March of 2002.

"Attacks by Palestinian suicide bombers in the Israeli settlements are an act of martyrdom. It is one of the highest levels of martyrdom."

Tantawi took a slightly more nuanced position on suicide bombers: He condemned terrorist attacks against civilians, but said bombings directed at Israeli soldiers were acceptable acts of resistance.