Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, received Miguel Ángel Moratinos, the UN High-Representative of the Alliance of Civilizations (AOC), at the headquarters of Al-Azhar to discuss aspects of cooperation between Al-Azhar and the United Nations in the areas of promoting peace and coexistence, confronting violence and extremism, and combating hatred and Islamophobia.

Mr. Moratinos explained that the world needs a constructive dialogue among religious leaders to avoid conflicts of religions and civilizations, the case which has become an imminent danger. He stressed that the Human Fraternity Document is one of the most important foundations on which the United Nations will rely in future initiatives to confront this phenomenon. This will happen by distributing the document to 193 countries, which represent the member states of the organization, explaining that Al-Azhar's efforts with the Vatican can push the world towards a better tomorrow.

The High Representative of the United Nations stated that joint committees will be formed of politicians and religious figures, and the first meeting will be held on May 13 at the UN headquarters. He added that Al-Azhar's participation will be essential in those committees as it is the mainstay of the UN initiatives and the most active institution in the field of dialogue among civilizations.

Meanwhile, His Eminence welcomed the UN High-Representative, stressing that Al-Azhar is always open to religious institutions in the world, and among the fruits this openness has yielded was the Human Fraternity Document, which came out into light as a result of the efforts made by Al-Azhar and the Vatican. HE indicated that this document has become of great importance, especially in light of the escalation of Islamophobia, hate speech, and the clash of civilizations.

His Eminence added that the world is in urgent need of all peace initiatives, and that political leaders should realize the importance of the religious dimension, which has a special place in people’s hearts. He warned against those who try to bring religions into conflicts, especially Islam and Christianity, stressing that such conflict is more inflammable than wars and economic crises. The Grand Imam also emphasized that Al-Azhar extends its hand to all initiatives that serve peace.