Egypt Pressed Al-Azhar to Side With UAE Against Iran, Sources Say
Egypt’s presidency applied direct pressure on Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s foremost religious authority, to publicly align with the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states against Iran during the current war, security sources and sources close to the institution’s grand imam told Middle East Eye on May 20. The Cairo-based institution subsequently issued four statements during the conflict, culminating in one that condemned Iranian strikes on the UAE as aggression against a Muslim neighbour. The pressure campaign centred on Egypt’s economic dependence on Gulf states and the livelihoods of Egyptians employed there.
Al-Azhar’s fourth statement, issued on May 5, condemned what it called the aggression of the Islamic Republic of Iran against its Muslim neighbour, the UAE. The language represented a significant departure from the institution’s posture during last year’s war, when it described that conflict as the aggression of the occupying entity against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Al-Azhar has not condemned American or Israeli strikes on Iran in any of its four statements during the current war. middleeasteyemiddleeasteye
At the outset of the current war, state agencies demanded that Al-Azhar align unambiguously with Gulf states and avoid any mention of US and Israeli strikes, sources within the institution’s leadership told Middle East Eye. middleeasteye
One source described the message delivered by the presidency in explicit terms. “It was stated plainly and directly by the presidential institution that there are major interests with the Gulf and the US that we cannot sacrifice under the current economic conditions, that what happened over Gaza cannot be repeated, and that Al-Azhar would bear the blame for the Egyptians who lose their jobs in the Gulf if it takes a contrary position,” the source said. middleeasteye
The four statements issued by Al-Azhar traced a clear trajectory. The first, on March 2, called for an immediate halt to the war and rejected violations of Arab states’ sovereignty without naming Iran. The second, on March 17, condemned what it called Iran’s unjustified attacks on the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. The third, on April 9, warned against the occupying entity — Al-Azhar’s customary term for Israel — for attempts to inflame the region and breach the current truce, without addressing strikes on Iranian territory. The fourth and most pointed statement, on May 5, then directly named Iran. middleeasteye
Sources close to the Egyptian presidency told Middle East Eye that Al-Azhar formed part of the state apparatus and that unifying its position was a necessity tied to national interests with the Gulf. Gulf states were watching Al-Azhar closely and had raised the matter directly in talks during the war, the sources said. middleeasteye
Gulf officials had visited Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb and detailed the damage their countries had sustained, assessments which sources close to the grand imam said had been greatly exaggerated. middleeasteye
This was not the first time Egypt’s government used such leverage against the institution. The same approach had been used the previous year to force Al-Azhar to withdraw a statement urging global action on famine in Gaza, as previously reported by Middle East Eye. On that occasion, the state threatened to blame the institution for derailing a ceasefire and blocking the entry of aid. middleeasteye
The close personal ties between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, alongside Egypt’s economic interests in Abu Dhabi, made it essential for Al-Azhar to issue a statement specifically condemning the Iranian strikes, according to sources close to the Egyptian presidency. middleeasteye
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also became entangled in the broader tensions surrounding Al-Azhar’s positioning. Abbas had called Tayeb directly to argue that Al-Azhar’s stance on Palestinian armed factions served the interests of political organisations that fell outside the legitimate Palestinian decision-making framework — a characterisation the grand imam rejected during the call. Abbas subsequently complained about Tayeb to Sisi. Middle East Eye said it asked the Palestinian Authority for comment but had not received a response. middleeasteye
A History of Institutional Pressure
The earlier Al-Azhar stance during last year’s war — describing it as aggression by the occupying entity against Iran — had angered the UAE, the sources said, although Gulf territory had not then come under attack. The Emirati newspaper Al-Khaleej criticised Grand Imam Tayeb’s position at the time. middleeasteye
Sources close to Tayeb also addressed a long-running question about whether UAE mediation during a 2019 dispute shaped the institution’s current conduct. An Egyptian news outlet had reported at the time that Sisi was moving to unseat the grand imam by amending the constitutional articles governing Al-Azhar, and that mediation by UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan resolved the crisis, preserving the constitutional articles in exchange for the removal of two figures close to Tayeb. middleeasteye
Sources close to Al-Azhar, however, told Middle East Eye that Abu Dhabi’s role in that episode had been overstated. Real support during the 2019 crisis had come from certain Egyptian state agencies, which leaked news of the planned move at the moment Tayeb was signing the Document on Human Fraternity with Pope Francis — timing that would have suggested he was being punished for his openness. Demonstrations followed in Luxor, Tayeb’s birthplace, where his image was raised by protesters. middleeasteye
Cooperation between Al-Azhar and Abu Dhabi slowed sharply after the UAE normalised relations with Israel under the 2020 Abraham Accords and was now confined to specific files and conditional on keeping Al-Azhar away from any matter involving Israel, the sources added. middleeasteye
What the Shift Means
The reported pressure on Al-Azhar carries implications beyond Egypt’s domestic politics. As the seat of Sunni Islamic scholarship with influence across dozens of countries, any shift in the institution’s public statements carries weight across Muslim-majority populations in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the broader Arab world. Previous pressure from the Egyptian state and Gulf governments, the UAE chief among them, had failed to shift Al-Azhar’s position on Palestinian armed factions or its expressions of support for them, the sources said. middleeasteye
Middle East Eye said it could not independently verify the accounts. Al-Azhar and the offices of the Egyptian and UAE presidents did not immediately respond to requests for comment. middleeasteye
Background
Al-Azhar, founded in Cairo in 970 AD, is widely regarded as the most authoritative institution in Sunni Islam and holds influence over religious rulings, education, and public discourse across Muslim-majority nations. Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb has led the institution since 2010. Egypt under President Sisi, who came to power in 2014, has deepened financial and political ties with the UAE, which has provided billions of dollars in economic support to Cairo. Iran and the UAE have been in a long-running territorial dispute over three islands in the Persian Gulf. The current war, which began in early 2026, has drawn in multiple regional actors, with Iranian strikes reported on Gulf state territory.
What Happens Next
Middle East Eye reported that Al-Azhar and the Egyptian and UAE presidencies had not responded to requests for comment as of May 20, leaving the institutions’ official positions unconfirmed. Gulf states have indicated they are monitoring Al-Azhar’s statements closely and have raised the matter in direct talks with Egyptian officials during the war, according to sources cited by Middle East Eye. No further statements from Al-Azhar on the conflict have been announced. The Palestinian Authority has also not responded to Middle East Eye’s request for comment on Abbas’s communications with Tayeb.
