Egypt's Grand Imam walked out of Morsi's inauguration

Ahram Online, Saturday 30 Jun 2012

Upset with what was described as lack of organisation, Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayeb leaves Morsi's ceremony along with other clerics

Tayeb
Egypt's Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayeb (Photo:Reuters)

Ahmed El-Tayeb Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and other Al-Azhar delegates walked out of the inauguration ceremony for Egypt's first civilian president, due to the lack of organisation that left members seated in the back.

The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, the Sunni authority in the Muslim world, saw being seated in the back as disrespectful, describing Morsi's official inauguration at the Cairo University campus as "unorganised," as quoted by an Al-Azhar delegate to the Ahram Arabic Portal.

The delegate stressed that El-Tayeb's withdrawal wasn't out of personal offence, but rather for the respect due to a Grand Imam.

In the presence of Egypt's prominent figures, Morsi addressed the audience at Cairo University after taking his oath before the judges of the High Constitutional Court on Saturday morning.

Seated in the front rows at Cairo University were prominent figures Mohamed ElBaradei, Ahmed Zweil, Amr Moussa and Kamal El-Ganzouri, among others.

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