World Bulletin/News Desk

Al-Azhar will on Monday start contacting all the figures who have floated initiatives aiming to resolve Egypt's political crisis, sources with the high-profile Sunni authority told Anadolu Agency Saturday.

Last week, a source close to Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb said the imam would invite the figures to a major meeting soon with the aim of formulating a unified initiative to break the political deadlock that engulfed the country following the July 3 ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi.

Several initiatives have been proposed by parties and public figures to break the deadlock, including Morsi's former prime minister Hisham Qandil, Islamic scholar Mohamed Selim al-Awa, and the Strong Egypt party among others.

The majority of the initiatives stipulate the reinstatement of the 2012 constitution and the holding of elections within 90 days.

The sources said Al-Azhar will start by contacting initiative proposers such as ultraconservative Salafist Nour Party, Strong Egypt Party and the moderate al-Wasat Party along with figures like al-Awa and Salafist preacher Mohamed Hassan.

On Tuesday, a coalition of Islamist parties supportive of the deposed president said it welcomes all local and international efforts to defuse the political crisis in Egypt, while insisting that the return to constitutional legitimacy is non-negotiable.

"Any initiative should respect constitutional legitimacy, mainly the reinstatement of the elected president," the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy said.

"We appreciate local and foreign calls for dialogue and calm, and stress that calm measures should secure the return of constitutional legitimacy first."