Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif received, on Tuesday at the headquarters of Al-Azhar, Mrs. Elena Panova, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Egypt, to discuss aspects of cooperation between Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif and the United Nations in the fields of boosting peace and coexistence, confronting violence and extremism, and combating hatred and Islamophobia. 

The Grand Imam said, “Al-Azhar plays a great role on the local and international arenas for the establishment of values of tolerance, brotherhood and world peace, and therefore it has taken the initiative to build up bridges of dialogue and cooperation with many religious institutions in the East and the West to achieve that goal, chiefly the Vatican and the Church of Canterbury. Likewise, we have taken the initiative at the internal level through our cooperation with the Egyptian Coptic Church to establish the House of the Egyptian Family, which is a unique example of achieving peaceful coexistence among the citizens of the same country via joint practices that contribute to finding solutions to the expected problems even before they happen”. HE stressed that Al-Azhar has long taken the initiative to reject the term “minorities” and replace it with the term “citizenship” which means equality in rights and duties among all compatriots without any prejudice or discrimination. His Eminence pointed out that Al-Azhar highly values the efforts that the United Nations exerts to establish world peace and to boost human principles as equality, respecting the rights of children along with many other principles proclaimed by Islam more than a thousand years ago. HE also explained that the ready-made solutions suggested by some Western bodies and organizations to  solve our problems, like homosexuality, abortion and others, will never provide any real solutions to our problems, but they rather contradict our culture and seek to impose many unacceptable behaviors on our societies and ignite a new conflict. The Grand Imam stressed Al-Azhar's commitment to continue its efforts to promote interfaith dialogue, those efforts whose greatest fruits were the Document on Human Fraternity co-signed by His Eminence with Pope Francis on February 4, 2019, a date later declared by the United Nations as World Day for human fraternity and to be a proof on the establishment of world peace and coexistence and an example to be followed. He also added that Al-Azhar plays a great role in facing various problematic social challenges as it established the Reconciliation Office with the aim of finding solutions to the problems from which the Egyptian families are suffering, which might lead collapse and disintegration.

On her part, Ms. Elena Panova, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Egypt, expressed her great appreciation for the local and international efforts of Al-Azhar and the Grand Imam to achieve peace, coexistence and to combat violence. She pointed out that the Charter of the United Nations calls for many principles such as peace, tolerance and coexistence, which are the same principles advocated by the Islamic religion and all religions. She also noted that there are many common aspects between the principles of the Islamic religion and the Charter of the United Nations. Panova stressed that the United Nations with all its bodies always seeks to cooperate with religious leaders and institutions around the world, especially in Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif, to highlight the rights of the marginalized groups, refugees and other vulnerable groups in order to empower them and enable them to overcome the challenges and difficulties that have intensified after the outbreak of the new coronavirus pandemic. She expressed her appreciation for the efforts of the Grand Imam in enhancing the values of dialogue and human fraternity.