When the grand imam of Al-Azhar met Pope Francis on Monday, it was a triumph for Vatican diplomacy. Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, often described as the spiritual leader of the world’s Sunni Muslims, suspended dialogue with the Holy See in 2011. Now, just five years later, he was standing next to Pope Francis at the Apostolic Palace. It was a powerful image: the leaders of the world’s two largest religious groupings – Sunni Islam and Catholicism – meeting in tranquillity. But it is a mistake to think that al-Tayeb is the Sunni equivalent of the Pope. It is also inaccurate to refer to Al-Azhar, as many do, as “the Vatican of Islam”. Unlike Catholicism, Sunnism does not have a clearly defined hierarchy. Many Sunnis would not consider al-Tayeb their leader or regard Al-Azhar’s rulings as binding. Nevertheless, Al-Azhar is one of the world’s most prestigious Sunni institutions – though it was actually founded by the Shia Muslim Fatimids. The Sorbonne-educated al-Tayeb is a prolific author who belongs to the Ash’ari school of Islamic theology, associated with the 11th-century Persian scholar al-Ghazali. He has no time for the inflexible creeds of Wahhabism and Salafism. He believes in “moderation and dialogue among civilisations”, rejects the Muslim Brotherhood, regards ISIS as “false Islam” and opposes the niqab (face veil). Fluent in French and English, al-Tayeb used to dress in sharp suits, rather than clerical garb, before he became grand imam in 2010. He was appointed by Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s strongman president, and was a member of Mubarak’s National Democratic Party. Relations between the Holy See and al-Tayeb have not been easy. Not long after his appointment he froze ties with the Vatican when Benedict XVI called for greater protection for Egypt’s Christian minority. That was a curious decision: the pope was simply speaking up for the victims of terrorist atrocities, but that was unacceptable to the country’s political and religious authorities at the time. Five years on, Egypt has changed considerably. Mubarak is gone, as is the short-lived Muslim Brotherhood government. Al-Tayeb appeared alongside Abdel Fattah el-Sisi after the latter took power in 2014. The perception of Sunni Islam has also altered considerably. Most Westerners associate Sunnism with the strident clerics of Saudi Arabia and the psychopathic violence of ISIS, rather than venerable institutions such as Al-Azhar. It is therefore a good time for al-Tayeb to meet the Pope, underlining Al-Azhar’s claim to represent an older, more authentic version of Sunni Islam. In January Pope Francis met Hassan Rouhani, president of Iran, the epicentre of Shia Islam. Renewed conflict between Sunnis (who believe that Mohammed’s first caliph was Abu Bakr) and Shia (who believe the first caliph was Ali bin Abi Talib) is claiming thousands of lives across the Middle East. As the Pope has now established relations with both Sunni and Shia leaders, is it conceivable that he could now mediate between the two great warring families of Islam?