Ahmed al-Tayyeb, the grand sheikh of Al-Azhar, has renewed his call for the release Omar Abdel Rahman, the Jama'a al-Islamiya leader serving a life sentence in the United States.
At a meeting with US Ambassador Anne Patterson on Tuesday, Tayyeb also criticized the United States for its biased support for Israel at the expense of the Palestinian cause. “This increases resentment and desperation vis-a-vis US justice,” he said.
“Such unfairness also urges the Al-Azhar institution to continue supporting the Palestinians to establish their own state, with Jerusalem as its capital,” he added.
Tayyeb also told Patterson, who wore a headscarf during the meeting, that US intervention in the Islamic world has created violent reactions.
"The US must be more honest in its dealings with the Arab and Islamic world," he said.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
