CAIRO, (Reuters) – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak appointed a new leader of the university wing of the Al-Azhar religious institution on Saturday, three weeks after the former chief took the helm of the overall body, a cabinet source said.

Al-Azhar is one of the most prominent seats of Sunni Islamic learning in the world, running schools, universities and other educational institutions across Egypt and sending scholars to teach in countries throughout the Muslim world.

Abdullah al-Husseini, 64, replaces Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, who became head of al-Azhar nine days after his predecessor died in Saudi Arabia.

Mubarak, 81, has not made a public appearance since his return to Egypt in late March. He is in Sharm El Sheikh recuperating from gallbladder surgery in Germany after his longest absence in almost three decades in power.

Al-Husseini was the university’s vice president for educational and tudent affairs and is an Arabic language professor with a PhD in linguistics from al-Azhar, state news agency MENA said.