Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, received Sheikh Mohamed Al-Hafiz Al-Nahwi, Head of the Mauritanian Islamic Cultural Gathering (MICG), and Sheikh Saleh Omar Kaabi, the Mufti of Zanzibar in Tanzania on the sidelines of Al-Azhar International Conference on "Renewing Thought and Islamic Sciences."

At the beginning of the meeting, the Grand Imam welcomed the guests of Egypt and Al-Azhar at Al-Azhar headquarters, stressing that Al-Azhar was keen to invite the leading scholars of the Muslim nation of different sects to discuss the issue of renewal of Islamic thought and science in line with the requirements of contemporary reality. He pointed out that this conference is part of multiple and continuous efforts on Al-Azhar’s path towards intellectual and jurisprudential renewal according to its moderate approach that has characterized it throughout the ages.

The guests of the Grand Imam, for their part, congratulated him on the success of the conference, praising the comprehensiveness of the final statement of the conference. The conference, which combined religious and worldly issues, is considered a contemporary extension of the historical Medina Document. The guests said it was necessary to circulate the statement at the level of Islamic bodies, organizations and councils.

It is noteworthy that Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif organized a global conference entitled “Al-Azhar International Conference for Renewal of Islamic Thought”, January 27-28, 2020, under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of Egypt, with the participation of a group of senior leaders, political figures and prominent religious leaders from all around the world. Representatives of the ministries of endowments, fatwa academies and Islamic councils from 46 countries of the Muslim world have also attended.

Over the course of two days, the conference discussed the challenges of renewal of Islamic thought and sciences. On top of these challenges is the fatal call of some people to regard the Muslim nation as unbelievers and exclude them from the missionary discourse. The conference also discussed the sanctification of the individual by terrorist groups, the use of religious slogans to achieve their goals, discussing the brutality of terrorist thought, and finally the political, economic, and technological influences on renewal and the security issues related to it.