Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, received today, Monday, at the headquarters of Al-Azhar, Major General Muhammad Babajana Monguno, the Nigerian National Security Adviser, accompanied by Mrs. Fayza Abul-Naga, Advisor to the President of the Republic for Egyptian National Security, and Mr. Nawra Abba Rimi, Nigerian Ambassador in Cairo. The Grand Imam said that Al-Azhar has a long and rich history with Nigeria, and Nigerian students rank third on the list of international students at Al-Azhar at all educational levels, and that he monitors the activities of Nigerian students and attaches special importance to them with other fellow international students.

The Grand Imam pointed out that Al-Azhar established an international academy to train imams and preachers and designed the Training Program for Imams and Preachers to combat extremist discourse and refute the suspicions of extremist groups in a manner that suits the nature of each society. His Eminence added

that Al-Azhar is ready to receive and train Nigerian imams, and to establish partnerships that concentrate efforts between Egypt and Nigeria to combat terrorism and extremism.

For his part, the Nigerian National Security Adviser expressed his pleasure at meeting the Grand Imam, stressing that he is proudly following Al-Azhar's activities at the African and international levels and that the Nigerian people trust the moderate approach of Al-Azhar. Therefore, they send their children to study at it and to be taught by its teachers and scholars, so that they may return and spread what they have learned among the Nigerian people.

The meeting dealt with international, regional and local efforts to combat terrorism and extremism, tackled ways to enhance cooperation between Nigeria and Al-Azhar in this field, and reviewed the efforts undertaken by Al-Azhar Observatory to combat extremism by watching for and refuting fallacies about Islam in 13 languages. All of this clarifies the moderation of Islam and its tolerant message that calls for peace. 

About 2,500 Nigerians study at Al-Azhar at all educational levels, starting from the primary stage to the postgraduate stage. Al-Azhar offers 430 scholarships annually to the Nigerian people to study in its prestigious institutes and universities. Al-Azhar also has 65 Azharite envoys teaching Islamic and Arabic sciences in Nigeria and 4 Azhari institutes that promote the moderate Azhar approach among the Nigerian people.