The Grand Imam:

* We are determined to combat extremist thought … and are willing to establish a cultural center in Paris to introduce genuine Islam

* There should be an entity in charge of mosques administration in France … and we are ready to train the imams at the expense of Al-Azhar

French Senate President:

* East-West dialogue is indispensable … the Grand Imam's discourse sets the grounds for a fruitful dialogue

* We have many problems regarding the imams, and we hope that Al-Azhar could help in finding solutions to them

 

 His Eminence, Prof Ahmed At-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders, stressed that Al-Azhar has largely determined to combat extremist thought all over the world, expressing Al-Azhar's willingness to establish a center of Islamic culture run by Al-Azhar in Paris to introduce the genuine faith and protect the Muslim youth from recruitment by extremist groups.

During his meeting with Mr. Larcher, the Grand Imam stated that Al-Azhar is willing to participate in training the French imams in Cairo, at its expense, in line with moderate Islamic thought taught at Al-Azhar.

Grand Imam At-Tayyeb further noted that, thanks to Al-Azhar for teaching Islam through a moderate educational approach, no single terrorist has ever graduated from Al-Azhar, affirming that Islam disavows those who commit violence in the name of religion.

Grand Imam At-Tayyeb pointed out that a main problem facing French Muslims is that some imams come from other countries with different ideologies or agendas that contradict the moderation of Islam. Therefore, it becomes necessary to establish an entity that manages mosques and imams’ affairs in France and to control and organize the missionary discourse.

 For his part, Mr. Larcher greeted the Grand Imam as the highest Muslim authority in the world. He also expressed appreciation and respect for Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif.

Mr. Larcher lauded the speech delivered by the Grand Imam in Paris to all Europeans and Muslims all over the world in which he stressed the importance of dialogue and integration of the French Muslims in their community and called for fostering values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. He also lauded the Cooperation Protocol between Al-Azhar University and the Catholic University which reflects the history of France.

Mr. Larcher stated that there are some problems regarding the French imams, hoping that Al-Azhar could help find solutions to them through the promotion of moderate thought and combating terrorism and extremism.