His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, received members of the French Parliament, headed by MPs Claude Goasguen and Gwendal Royar. The delegation stated that that Grand Imam is a highly symbolic figure of a great status as the top religious authority in the Muslim world. They added that he managed to break the tension between religions and strengthen Muslim-Christian relations through dialogue with major religious institutions in the world. The delegation also explained that Al-Azhar’s approach and role in Egypt has made it a model for relations between the members of the same society, drawing on the idea of common citizenship. They then expressed their aspiration to benefit from Al-Azhar’s expertise and ideas in achieving social stability in Europe, in light of religious pluralism in the Western societies.

For his part, the Grand Imam stated that the Egyptians realize that the message of religions is peace, and that the homeland is the umbrella for all the citizens, pointing out that Al-Azhar initiated the establishment of the Egyptian Family House in cooperation with the Egyptian churches to address social problems, prevent dressing these problems in a religious garb and emphasize the humanitarian message of religions.