Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, received today, Monday, at the headquarters of Al-Azhar in Cairo, Ambassador Ib Petersen, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Vice President of the UN Population Fund in Cairo. The Grand Imam said Al-Azhar spares no effort to support all endeavors that seek to preserve the family, the integrity of its entity, its thoughts, and its health. His Eminence welcomes all constructive cooperation aimed at addressing family problems and creating paths that eliminate their causes. When Al-Azhar steps into this field, it proceeds from the tolerant doctrine of Islam, which cares for the family and its members, making human interests and rights its priority, as well as the culture, identity, and privacy of Arab and Muslim societies. Al-Azhar Grand Imam emphasized the need to take into account and respect the religious beliefs and intellectual and cultural identity of each society when discussing human rights. There are actions and behavior patterns that the Western world sees as genuine human rights, whereas we find them forbidden and criminal. In fact, we consider some such rights a disease that threatens the entity of the family and society in our faith and culture, such as homosexuality, which is rejected by the Muslims and the Christians in Eastern societies. Here, the peculiarities of each society should be respected; and attempts to impose a specific culture on other cultures and societies should be avoided. His Eminence stressed the need to respect our beliefs when talking about the human rights in the East. Here, religion is the first priority, and people will give up their freedom if it contradicts the teachings of their faiths, because they believe that religion only exists for the benefit of humanity, protecting, and respecting people. Meanwhile, there are societies in which religion is ranked differently. HE added that it is necessary to identify the causes of the problem and work to uproot the danger substantially. Before we think about "combating violence against women and children," we should look for the causes and handle them to eliminate all manifestations of violence. He suggested working on campaigns and projects to "combat poverty and violence against women, children, and men." 

For his part, the representative of the UN Population Fund in Cairo expressed his appreciation for Al-Azhar’s cooperation and efforts in serving family and population issues, and the close and effective cooperation between the Population Fund and Imam Al-Ashˁari Center at Al-Azhar. 

Therefore, the Population Fund encourages positive thoughts and behavior regarding the family, appreciates Al-Azhar’s efforts in this field and respects the difference between societies. As a result, in this regard, the Population Fund operates in accordance with the United Nations Charter, and agrees with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar on the dangers of poverty on the family and the necessity to combat it, while always seeking common grounds to work on.