Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif received, on Tuesday at the headquarters of Al-Azhar, Mr. Gareth Bailey, British Ambassador to Egypt, to discuss ways of enhancing joint cooperation between the two sides. The Grand Imam said, “Our Prophet (pbuh) is the Messenger of all humanity; all heavenly messages came with the message of peace; and Allah Almighty has created us equal in rights and duties, different in form, religion and race”. HE stressed that this diversity is a divine disposition that reveals divine wisdom, noting that all religions have guided us to observe such diversity so that the spirit of brotherhood would prevail and encompasses everyone in this universe. 

The Grand Imam pointed out that Al-Azhar has opened up to religious and cultural institutions around the world to cooperate to stop the bleeding of hatred and intolerance between the East and the West so that they would be replaced by peace, coexistence and brotherhood. HE also noted the need for solidarity in the face of the problems and crises facing our contemporary world such as poor level of education and culture, along with other environmental and societal crises, pointing out that this responsibility is a common human duty. 

On his part, the British Ambassador congratulated the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar on the occasion of the anniversary of the birth of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), expressing his pleasure with holding such an important meeting, and showing his great appreciation for the efforts of the Grand Imam in promoting dialogue between religions, after his tours in Europe and his contacts with the leaders of the major churches in the world. He also highlighted Britain's keenness to enhance cooperation with Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif in the scholarly and religious fields because of Al-Azhar's long experience in training imams, combating extremism and promoting tolerance and universal peace.