The former Grand Mufti of Egypt has rejected the bishops of the Episcopal Church of the USA for endorsing gay marriage, calling it unbiblical, according to Anglican Ink.
"Unfortunately some Heads of Churches in the United States accept same-sex marriages. I wonder what is left of the Bible in those Churches," Sheikh el-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of the al-Azhar in Cairo said, speaking at the Islamic University of Syarif Hidayatullah in Indonesia.
Sheikh el-Tayeb, the premier Sunni religious leader and Islamic jurist in the Muslim world, asked American Christians whether they were being faithful to Christ: "What will they say in front of Jesus, peace be upon him?"
During the talk, he also denounced US government policy for using foreign aid as a means of pressuring nations to adopt its own views on homosexuality, and suggested liberal churches were giving moral sanction to this blackmail.
Although he did not explicitly reference the US Episcopal Church (TEC), it is assumed it was the intendend audience. TEC has recently received sanctions from the Anglican Communion for approving gay marriage and consecrating gay bishops.
According to a statement from the primates at last month's meeting in Canterbury,TEC will "no longer represent us on ecumenical and interfaith bodies, should not be appointed or elected to an internal standing committee and that while participating in the internal bodies of the Anglican Communion, they will not take part in decision making on any issues pertaining to doctrine or polity."
Sheik el-Tayeb was formerly the Grand Mufti of Egypt, between 2002 and 2003 and is considered to be one of the most moderate Sunni clerics in Egypt.
