Al-Azhar Sheikh Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi has expressed his own, and Islam's vehement objections to the West's call to abolish the death penalty.
In a speech marking the conclusion of the activity of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, Tantawi said that he would never agree to abolish the death penalty, and that neither the Egyptian president nor the president of the court could stop a relative of a murder victim from avenging the murder, which is anchored in shari'a.
Source: Al-Masri Al-Yawm, Egypt, May 6, 2008
