On the sidelines of his attendance at the Summit of Religious Leaders on Climate and Education, held in Rome, Italy, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb had an interview, for the first time, with the Vatican Radio, scheduled to be broadcast this Friday evening. In this interview, the Grand Imam talks about many contemporary issues and prominent stations of Al-Azhar’s relationship with the Vatican. The interview touches on the history of the relations between Al-Azhar and the Vatican, the foundations of these relations, spanning interruption, and reasons behind their resumption at the hands of the Grand Imam and Pope Francis, and Al-Azhar’s initiatives for dialogue with the Vatican. The Grand Imam advised those seeking to know the whole story to read The Pope and the Grand Imam: A Thorny Path by Judge Mohammed Abdul-Salam, Secretary General of the Higher Committee for Human Fraternity and former legislative advisor to the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar.

In the interview, the Grand Imam indicated the impact of his upbringing in Luxor on his personal career and the way he runs Al-Azhar institution and the secret of his adherence to dialogue with the followers of the heavenly messages. During the interview, too, the Grand Imam elaborated on women’s rights in Islam, and the difference between the rights guaranteed by Islam in an environment where religion constitutes an unshakable basis in building their culture and lifestyles, on the one hand, and the rights formulated in contemporary civilizations against the morals of religion and human instinct, on the other.

The Grand Imam has been on a visit to Italy since October 3, during which he attended the two religious leaders’ summits on education and climate change. He also held various meetings with religious leaders, political figures and the Italian President Sergio Mattarella, and attended the international ceremony Prayer for Humanity, in the presence of Pope Francis and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. This was part of the Grand Imam’s foreign tours to disseminate the culture of dialogue and coexistence among the followers of divine messages, and to consolidate the global role of Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif in promoting peace and presenting the true image Islamic tolerance.