Sheikh Amhed el-Tayeb tells Indonesian audience TEC has abandoned the Bible

The Grand Imam of the al-Azhar in Cairo has denounced the bishops of the Episcopal Church of the USA for endorsing gay marriage saying the innovation was contrary to the clear words of Scripture. Speaking at the University of Syarif Hidayatullah in Indonesia this week Sheikh Amhed el-Tayeb asked American Christians whether their actions were faithful to Christ. Sheikh el-Tayeb, held to be the highest Sunni religious leader and Islamic jurist in the Muslim world, also denounced US government policy of pressuring less developed nations to adopt its views on homosexuality in return for foreign aid. He further stated liberal church leaders in the US were complicit in this blackmail by giving moral sanction to an immoral agenda.  “Unfortunately some Heads of Churches in the United States accept same-sex marriages. I wonder what is left of the Bible in those Churches. And what will they say in front of Jesus, peace be upon him”, Sheikh el-Tayeb said in a question and answer session, according to a spokesman for the university. Speaking at a question and answer session at the School of Theology at the University of the South on 11 Feb 2016, the chairman of the Anglican Consultative Council, the Rt. Rev. James Tengatenga, said that in the eyes of many African and Asian religious leaders, the Episcopal Church was an arm of US foreign policy. Dr. Tengatenga said the heavy handed approach taken by the State Department under the Obama Administration in advancing gay rights in Africa, Asia and the Middle East was resented as a colonialist intrusion into the affairs of independent states. The retired Malawian bishop said it was not uncommon for local activists in Africa to be undermined by the well-intentioned but misguided support from overseas groups, often leading to the unfortunate outcome of a hardening of attitudes against gays and lesbians.