Shawqi Ibrahim Abdel Karim was elected on Monday to take over as Egypt’s next mufti, the government’s top interpreter of Islamic law, the highest Sunni Muslim institute in Islam announced.

President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood is to formally ratify the vote by senior Muslim clerics to replace outgoing Mufti Ali Gomaa. “One candidate has been nominated, Dr Shawqi Abdel Karim,” said Al-Azhar spokesman Mohammed Gemea, after Abdel Karim beat a Muslim Brotherhood member to win the most ballots in a vote by a senior council of Al-Azhar clerics. The position has in the past been traditionally filled by top scholars from Al-Azhar - the most prestigious Sunni institution.