Cairo: Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi,
Grand Imam of Egypt's prestigious seat of Islamic learning Al-
Azhar, died of a heart attack today in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
Sayed Tantawi, head of Al-Azhar, died during a visit
to Riyadh, Egypt's state TV reported.
Tantawi, who was 82, was appointed Grand Mufti of
Egypt in 1986. He held this position for almost ten years,
until he was appointed Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Mosque and
University in 1996.
The Grand Imam breathed his last at Riyadh's King
Khalid International Airport from where he was supposed to fly
to Cairo.
Tantawi was in the Saudi capital to participate in the
award ceremony of King Faisal International Prize (KFIP).
His son Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi said the Grand Imam
will be buried in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Azhar, a millennium-old university and mosque
complex, is widely regarded as one of the main seats of
Islamic learning and the most prominent Sunni institutions in
the world.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 16:06