His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, received Mr. Sardar Muhammad Yousuf, Pakistani Minister of Religious Affairs. The Grand Imam averred that Pakistan is one of the most important countries in the Muslim world, with its enormous human, natural and scientific capabilities that qualify it to stand in the ranks of developed countries. He also expressed Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif’s readiness to support Pakistan’s counter-extremism efforts and to disseminate moderate thought by increasing the number of Al-Azhar scholarships for Pakistani students and hosting Pakistani imams at Al-Azhar to train them to confront deviant thought and establish a culture of moderation, tolerance and acceptance of the other. The Grand Imam also proposed establishing a cultural center for teaching Arabic in Pakistan.

For his part, Mr. Yousuf greeted the Grand Imam on the success of Al-Azhar International Conference in Support of Jerusalem, stressing that the whole world views with admiration Al-Azhar’s role in resolving crises and thorny issues, given its balanced vision that is sustained by the efforts of the Grand Imam towards bringing peace to the world, confronting extremism and terrorism, and supporting just humanitarian causes. Mr. Youssef added that Al-Azhar is the platform of moderate Islam and the academic destination for Muslims, expressing his aspiration for more of Al-Azhar's academic and missionary support for Pakistan to help it confront extremist thought and correct misconceptions about Islam.