The Grand Imam: We are ready to increase scholarships for Pakistani students and establish a center for teaching Arabic in Islamabad.

The spread of extremist ideology is orchestrated by well-funded states and global entities seeking to weaken the Muslim community and subject it to constant challenges and crises.

Maintaining social peace was among the Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) top priorities after his migration to Medina.

The Pakistani Chief of Army Staff: We appreciate the efforts of the Grand Imam in supporting the issues of the Muslim world and disseminating the true nature of our noble religion.

The Pakistani Chief of Army Staff extends an invitation to the Grand Imam to visit Pakistan and affirms: Our people love the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and hold him in high esteem.

His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Prof. Ahmad al-Tayyeb received Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah, Chief of the Pakistani Army Staff, at Al-Azhar headquarters on Thursday to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between Al-Azhar and Pakistan.

The Grand Imam stated that he cherishes the relationship between Al-Azhar and Pakistan, a country dear to the hearts of Muslims. He noted that he holds fond memories of his year-long tenure as a professor at Islamabad University, where he found the Pakistani people to be friendly, strong, and productive, striving to boost their confidence in their local products and industries.

His Eminence also pointed out that Al-Azhar hosts 254 Pakistani students studying at various educational levels, including 162 on full scholarships offered by Al-Azhar to Pakistani students, as al-Azhar offers 30 scholarships annually to Pakistani students. He affirmed its readiness to increase these scholarships to meet the needs of the Pakistani people and contribute to strengthening social cohesion and promoting a culture of positive coexistence and acceptance of others within society.

His Eminence also confirmed Al-Azhar's readiness to establish an Arabic language center in Pakistan to serve Pakistani students in learning the language of the Holy Quran. Furthermore, Al-Azhar is prepared to host new delegations of Pakistani imams for training at Al-Azhar Academy for Training Imams, Preachers, and Fatwa Researchers. This training helps the imams to hone their skills to refute the arguments and claims used by extremist groups who try to spread their radical ideologies and distort the image of Islam. 

In discussing confronting extreme ideologies, the Grand Imam affirmed that Al-Azhar spares no effort in combating these ideologies, which utilize the latest technological means and methods to spread and control the minds of our Muslim youth, invading their privacy within their homes without any oversight. He pointed out that Muslim scholars and thinkers have played a significant role in clarifying the deviations of terrorist groups and their misinterpretation of religious texts, whether from the Quran or the Prophetic traditions. He added that the dissemination of this extremist ideology is supported by states and global entities that are funded to weaken the Muslim world and place it before constant challenges and crises, distracting it from its tasks of progress and productivity, and diminishing its ability to assume its rightful place in the new world order.

His Eminence also affirmed that the Islamic world suffers from division and fragmentation, pointing to the internal conflicts plaguing many Muslim countries. He said, “Those involved in conflicts in our Islamic world know the Prophetic hadith by heart: ‘When two Muslims confront each other with their swords, both the slayer and the slain are doomed to Hell-Fire.’ They said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, (we understand about) this killer, but what is wrong with the one who is slain? ’ He said: He wanted to kill his companion.” However, there is no room for implementing or acting upon this hadith due to the dominance of politics and the prioritization of narrow interests over the higher interests represented by uniting the Muslim community and achieving Islamic unity and solidarity.

The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar pointed out that maintaining social peace was among the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) top priorities after his migration to Medina. He found separate and conflicting communities of Jews, polytheists, Ansar (the local inhabitants of Medina), and other groups. Therefore, the first thing he (PBUH) did was to establish brotherhood between the Muhajirun (immigrants) and the Ansar, and sign the Charter of Medina between the Muslims and the Jews, all with the aim of securing social peace, as he was certain that without it, the Muslim community would not be able to achieve tangible progress.

The Pakistani Chief of Army Staff expressed his pleasure at meeting the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and his country's appreciation for His Eminence's significant efforts in supporting the causes of the Muslim Ummah and disseminating the true image of our noble religion. He commended Al-Azhar's prominent role in spreading a culture of brotherhood and positive coexistence among societies, adding that our Muslim world is witnessing several crises and challenges. He added that extremist groups attempt to distort religious texts to justify their extremism and tarnish the tolerant image of Islam, emphasizing that Islam is a religion of tolerance and peace.

He affirmed his country's desire to benefit from Al-Azhar's expertise in combating extremist ideologies and groups by strengthening cooperation with Al-Azhar in training Pakistani imams at Al-Azhar Academy for Training Imams, Preachers and Fatwa Researchers. He also expressed his appreciation for the Grand Imam's proposal to increase scholarships offered to Pakistani students and to establish Al-Azhar Center for Arabic Language Teaching in Pakistan. At the end of the meeting, the Chief of Staff of the Pakistani Army extended an invitation to His Eminence the Grand Imam to visit Pakistan, stressing that the Pakistani people admire the Grand Imam, hold him in high esteem, and eagerly await his visit. His Eminence welcomed this kind invitation, stating: “I would love to visit Pakistan; it is a country dear to my heart, and I have many memories of it that I would like to relive and remember when I visit it again.”