Informed sources reported that members of the Senior Scholar Authority, including Grand Shaykh of the Azhar Dr. Ahmad al-Tayyīb and his advisor Councilor Hasan al-Shāf’ī, are preparing a list of nominees to select the candidate to replacing the Grand Muftī Dr. ‘Alī Jum’ah. Having his term of office renewed for one year in February 2012, Dr. Jum’ah’s termination of office is due coming February.

The sources consider more probable the nominee to not be a member of said Authority as all its member have reached the age of retirement, expressing their concern that a Salafī or Muslim Brotherhood candidates are among the list of nominees. The sources, further, noted that the candidate should not be affiliated to any political grouping, current or party, as such could have an impact on his task as Muftī responsible for the legislation and jurisprudence of the country. The tasks of the new Muftī will not include proclaiming Da’wah or issuing fatwás as these will be tasks performed exclusively by the Senior Scholars Authority.

For his part, member of the Authority Dr. Muhammad al-Mukhtār al-Mahdī said that in accordance to the Azhar bylaw no. 13 for the year 2012, the candidates for the position of the future Muftī are exclusively nominated by the Authority and  that the nominees do not necessarily have to be members of the Authority Board (Wā’il Fāyiz, al-Watan, Jan. 12, p. 3). Read original text in Arabic.