His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, received His Excellency Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz Al Al-Sheikh, Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da‘wah and Guidance to discuss enforcement of plans and initiatives proposed through the Grand Imam’s consultations with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz during the latter’s historic visit to Al-Azhar. His Eminence the Grand Imam averred that King Salman’s visit to Al-Azhar was successful and it pleased the Azharites, who saw in it a proper beginning to encounter the challenges witnessed in the Arab and Muslim nation. According to the Grand Imam, the visit proved that cooperation between Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its religious scholars is necessary to confront such challenges, stressing that uniting the nation begins through uniting stances and paying attention to the danger threatening everyone. His Eminence the Grand Imam also called for an alliance among the Muslim scholars to confront the issues and challenges witnessed in the Muslim world, and to discuss contemporary jurisprudential issues and calamities. He added that the peoples of the Arab and Muslim worlds expect scholars to address many issues that concern them and thus lift their confusion and hesitation.

For his part, His Excellency the Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs noted that Al-Azhar represents manifest symbolic significance for the Sunnis in the Muslim world, and therefore the visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to Al-Azhar, and its consequent results, received considerable media coverage inside the Kingdom. He stressed that the Kingdom sees Al-Azhar as a sustaining leverage for the Muslim world, with its great influence on knowledge seekers. He also applauded the Grand Imam’s Britain and Indonesia tours and his recent speech at the German Bundestag. The Saudi Minister briefed the Grand Imam on the programs implemented by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs inside the Kingdom and across the Muslim world. He then suggested holding periodic meetings between Al-Azhar religious scholars and their Saudi counterparts to discuss joint programs between Al-Azhar and the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs.