Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif received, on Tuesday at the headquarters of Al-Azhar, Bishop Dr. Sami Fawzi, Archbishop of Alexandria Region of the Episcopal Church, and Dr. Mounir Hanna, former President of the Episcopal Church. The two sides exchanged congratulations on the feasts of Muslims and Christians as the Grand Imam congratulated the delegation on the glorious Easter, wishing the Christian brothers in Egypt and the world many happy returns of such occasions in goodwill and peace. In its turn, the delegation of the Episcopal Church congratulated the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar on the imminent advent of ˁEid ul-Fiṭr, wishing His Eminence and all Muslims to enjoy goodness, happiness, blessings, and permanent unity and integrity among the fellow citizens of our dear homeland, Egypt.  

The two sides also discussed the most outstanding developments on the universal arena. The Grand Imam pointed out that the world is witnessing today a chaos of false freedoms and dictatorship exclusively confined to certain factions to be used to undermine creeds and violate sanctities. Along with a fascination with technical progress, associated with the decline of moral values, all of this has led to the torment of modern man and exacerbated his crises. HE also stressed that listening to the voice of religion is the only way out of these worsening crises man is suffering from as it would alleviate the severity of his pain and the gravity of the challenges he faces, noting that interfaith dialogue stems from the principle of respecting the faith of the other and the common values of the followers of the heavenly religions. 

On their part, the members of the delegation of the Episcopal Church affirmed the need to respect religions, their specific teachings and sanctities, pointing out   that freedom never means challenging the beliefs of others and provoking their feelings. They also stressed that the world today is in dire need of respect for religions in order to enhance peace and the values of coexistence everywhere so that man would get rid of some of the worries and pains he has been surrounded by as a result of the consecutive global crises. They also affirmed that the relationship between the Muslims and the Christians in Egypt is the best model to be followed by the world to achieve unity and integrity among the nations so that security and stability may prevail.