CAIRO - Al-Azhar is hailed as the most prestigious institution in Sunni Islam, even if the credibility of its head, Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi who died on Wednesday, has been clouded by the cleric's close ties with the government.
The 10th century Cairo-based institution is "without a doubt the most important university in the world when it comes to shaping experts in Islam," said Diaa Rashwan, a political analyst with Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.
The institution's appeal stretches far beyond Egypt and the Arab world, with international students coming from as far afield as Indonesia or Malaysia to attend lectures at the ancient university which sits in the heart of Old Cairo.
With faculties and affiliated schools spread across the country, Al-Azhar "is enormous. There is no institution in Egypt that can surpass it," Rashwan said.
But Tantawi's perceived proximity to the regime has tainted Al-Azhar's stature in the world, commentator Kamal Habib said.
"He was the weakest head of Al-Azhar ever because he saw himself only as a government employee when he should have been addressing the problems of Muslims," Habib said.
Al-Azhar must "free itself of the state and become once more the institution that represents the Islamic people. Its Grand Imam must not be appointed (by the president), he must be elected by a group of sheikhs from around the world," he said.
Even abroad, this marriage of religion and politics has been criticised.
According to leading opposition member Abdel Halim Qandil, this comes as a result of the Grand Imam's "internal conflict," as shown by his shift in positions after he was appointed.
"His tenure saw a severe deterioration in Egypt's political life, and as a result a deterioration of the religious institution because of its links with politics," Qandil said.
Tantawi was particularly vocal about his opposition to those who supported a boycott of Israel, a popular view in Egypt despite a 1979 peace deal with Tel Aviv.
But Habib believes that despite the unpopular statements and decisions, Al-Azhar's stature in the Islamic world could not really be shaken in the long term.
"Al-Azhar can fall ill, but it will stay alive," he said.
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