His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb received Sheikh Tomasz Miśkiewicz, the Mufti of Poland and Head of the Polish Muslim Religious Union, during the latter’s visit to Cairo. The Grand Imam stated that religions do not know violence or killing tendencies, since they were only revealed to spread a culture of coexistence and peace among all people. He stressed that Islam is a religion of mercy, tolerance and moderation, and that it never preached violence, terrorism or exclusion. He then added that Al-Azhar, which has always kept preaching moderate Islam, has close relations with Europe aimed at guiding the Muslims in Europe to constitute a force of stability, construction, and development in the societies where they live. The Grand Imam announced that Al-Azhar is ready to offer a number of scholarships to Polish Muslim students and to host a group of Polish imams within a special program on facing contemporary challenges and underscoring peaceful coexistence among the citizens of one and the same nation. He noted that Al-Azhar can establish an Arabic language center in Poland for those who wish to learn Arabic and get acquainted with Islamic thought.

For his part, the Mufti of Poland said that Al-Azhar is the referential authority for Muslims in Poland and that “we look forward to the support of this prestigious academic institution to prevent deviant ideologies from prevailing among Polish Muslims.” He also praised Al-Azhar’s moderate message that promotes cooperation and coexistence among peoples and that urges Muslims in Europe to integrate into their societies without compromising their identity. Sheikh Miśkiewicz stressed that Al-Azhar’s relations with Poland are longstanding, noting that some of the previous muftis of Poland received religious and language knowledge at the hands of Al-Azhar distinguished scholars.