Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, received, at Al-Azhar headquarters, Dr. Ahmed Okasha, Professor of Psychiatry, and Adviser to the Egyptian President on Mental Health and Community Harmony.

His Eminence the Grand Imam pointed out that mental health is a humanitarian and global development priority that should be regarded as a top priority by all governments and countries due to the seriousness of mental diseases that threaten millions of people around the world. He added that today we are in dire need of preserving the individual, and facilitating means of production, work and community participation for him/her. He stressed the importance of paying more attention to mental health services, and sponsoring them from health budgets to mitigate and reduce the seriousness of these diseases, in addition to raising awareness and educating the community about the importance of removing the stigma of such diseases that threaten societies.

Dr. Ahmad Okasha confirmed that a mental illness is an organic disease that originates in the brain, and that all mental illnesses are caused by irregularity in nervous circuits in the brain. He added that all treatments are currently directed at regulating this nervous disorder. He called for increasing the awareness of people, especially young people, of the forms of mental illnesses, and informing them that all mental illnesses are curable, and that there is a treatment dedicated to each case separately. He pointed out that disregarding the treatment of a mental illness may lead to a deterioration in personality, and cause negative results.