The brutal crimes going on in Gaza for a year and a half cannot be imagined to have happened even in the Middle Ages, the Grand Imam

 

Groups that practice violence based on a misunderstanding of religion are like a gun for hire for anyone, the Grand Imam

 

Peace, understanding, and brotherhood are the essence of Al-Azhar's message, which we work to instill in our students, the Grand Imam 

 

 

His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Prof. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, received today, Wednesday, a delegation from the UK Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS), headed by Mr. Philip Parham, Senior Director of Orientation at the UK RCDS.

 

The Grand Imam welcomed the college delegation at Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, explaining that Al-Azhar Al-Sharif has been responsible for teaching true Islam to its students from all over the world, since its establishment more than 1080 years ago. He pointed out that Al-Azhar’s message is based on achieving peace, understanding and brotherhood, which is the message that we work to instill in Al-Azhar's students. The moderate curricula provided to Al-Azhar students teach them the true religion and protect them from extremist ideas.

 

His Eminence explained that Al-Azhar is open to all and has established cooperation with all religious institutions at home and abroad. He began by cooperating with the Egyptian Orthodox Church through the establishment of the Egyptian Family House, which brings together all Egyptian churches with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif. Through this, they succeeded in confronting and containing all forms of sectarian tension in Egypt's governorates before they erupt. Another fruit of the constructive cooperation with the Egyptian Church and the Eastern Churches was the abolition of the term "minorities" and the adoption of the term "citizenship" instead, as one of the most important outcomes of the Al-Azhar International Conference on "Freedom and Citizenship: Diversity and Integration." His Eminence added that Al-Azhar has also opened up to cooperation with Western churches, and visited the Canterbury Cathedral, the Vatican, and the World Council of Churches, and signed many constructive cooperation agreements with them. One of the most important outcomes was the Human Fraternity  Document, which we signed by both the Grand Imam and the late Pope Francis in 2019, as it provides effective solutions to all the problems facing our world today, provided that the principles it stipulates are properly applied.

 

The Grand Imam explained that Al-Azhar spreads its moderate approach throughout the world, as 60 thousand students from 110 countries around the world studying at Al-Azhar return to their countries with correct jurisprudence and sound Islamic disciplines, which help them achieve peace in their societies and confront extremist thought. He pointed out that the groups that practice violence - based on a false understanding of religion - do not represent Islam, and they are more like a “gun for hire” that works for anyone.

 

The Grand Imam also expressed to the delegation members his deep regret over the unprecedented chaos, wars, violence and killing the world is currently witnessing, noting that all of this is due to the abandonment of human values. He explained that the world has become like a jungle, where the strong eat the weak. Evidence of this is the brutal crimes we have witnessed in Gaza over the past year and a half. These crimes, which cannot be imagined to have happened even in the Middle Ages, are now occurring daily in our world, seen and heard by the entire world, in the age of scientific and technological progress, and the spread of human rights slogans and other resonant ones that have proven to be pointless and useless.

 

For their part, the delegation members expressed their great happiness for being at Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, appreciating the significant role played by the Grand Imam in strengthening relations between the East and the West, which established the foundations of dialogue, and disseminated the values of peace and coexistence among all people, regardless of their religions and cultures.