Today marks the passing of Sheikh Shaltout, dean of Al-Azhar who issued a groundbreaking fatwa recognising the Shi’a faith as the 5th Islamic sect. The edict (attached) followed correspondence with Sayed Sharafuddin, under the direction of Ayatollah Borujerdy [thread] 
The correspondence was later compiled in the book al Muraja’at in which major doctrinal differences of the Shi’a school were discussed by Sharafuddin, convincing Shaltout that Shi’a weren’t heretics as previously assumed. The book is found here: al-islam.org/al-murajaat-ab…
Sharafuddin, a pioneering scholar from south Lebanon, was an ardent promoter of positive interfaith dialogue - in that he advocated open discussion between Shi’a and Sunni. He was invited by King Husain to lead prayers at Masjid al Haram in Makkah, despite being Shi’a!
The Fatwa by Sheikh Shaltout, who sat at the helm of the most authoritative Sunni religious institution, severely undermined the Wahhabi narrative that insisted on the alienation of Shi’a Muslims by labeling them heretics and apostates.
