Born in Beheira Governorate, a province in Lower Egypt, Sheikh Shaltut left his small village, Binyat Bani Mansur, in 1906 at age thirteen and enrolled in Ma’had dini of Alexandria- a newly established Azhar-affiliated religious institute.

Thus, it was inevitable Shaltut would harbor resistance to al-Zawahiri's passive policies, and therefore, he was consequently dismissed from al-Azhar in September 1931 along with others in what can be conceived as a general purge of those associated with al-Maraghi's reform faction.

By deepening the ties between the regime and the institution, this allowed the post-1952 revolutionary government of Abdel Nasser to work to integrate education into a unified system and find an ally in Shaltut, who would strive for modernization of curricula and a broader public-service function - at home and abroad - for al-Azhar.

The Reform Law was aimed at integrating al-Azhar into the wider field of higher education, improving job opportunities for students, and producing modern scholars knowledgeable in matters of the contemporary world and able to serve the Muslim community.

Admiration for Sheikh Shaltut grew rapidly and his unprecedented decision to undertake regular broadcasts, in which he delivered religious sermons and answered questions from those who had doubts or criticism, only enhanced his reputation.

His capability to communicate well with the masses garnered him many listeners as he spoke of varying issues regarding contemporary Muslim society such as family law, private property, birth control, and polygamy (which he strongly defended), to name a few.

He maintained close relations with prominent Shi’i figures such as Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi and zealously campaigned for open discussion and cooperation between the two faiths.

Shaltut's attempts to reengage the ulama into people's broad culture fell on deaf ears as he was seen as peripheral to the state — a man set in place to satisfy the regime rather than serve the religion.