• Grand Imam of Al-Azhar: My visit to Iraq will focus on strengthening Islamic rapprochement.

• Head of the Iraqi Sunni Endowment Office to the Grand Imam: Your positions towards the Palestinian issue reflect the aspirations of the Arab and Muslim public.

Today, Thursday, at the Headquarters of Al-Azhar, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, received Dr. Mishaan Mohi Alwan, Head of the Iraqi Sunni Endowment Office, and his accompanying delegation, in the presence of Mr. Ahmed Nayef Rashid Al-Dulaimi, the Iraqi ambassador to Cairo. The Grand Imam stated that Iraq is a country dear to every Arab and Muslim, and that Al-Azhar is proud of its historical relations with Iraq. He noted that his visit to Iraq in January next year will focus on strengthening rapprochement among all schools of Islamic thought there, especially Sunnis and Shiites, asserting “We will do our utmost to boost rapprochement between Al-Azhar scholars and Iraqi scholars, by preparing a periodic plan for the exchange of scholars, researchers, and students, and boosting cooperation in scholarly research in various Islamic sciences.”

For his part, Dr. Alwan averred, “We are proud of H.E. the Grand Imam, the most prominent Islamic figure around the world.”  He also expressed his pleasure to be with his accompanying delegation in Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif, and the appreciation of the Iraqis for Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif’s positions towards various issues of the Muslim nation, especially the Palestinian issue. He concluded that such positions reflect the aspirations of the Arab and Muslim public.