- Philosophers and intellectuals expected a sweeping threat to the entire humanity due to the scientific advancement/moral decline binary.

- Disappointment in the 20th century was more bitter and vicious due to the bloody acts record.

- Technical progress in arms manufacturing lacked the moral values necessary to harness it within the proper humanitarian course.

The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Prof. Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb stated: Material development of the past century, which is considered among the greatest human achievements, and which lent privilege to that century, was not paralleled with achievements on the moral level. This is quite unfortunate, knowing that morality lies at the core in the process of redressing human course and enhancing human conduct, especially when there is confusion regarding the demarcation between goodness and evil.

During his speech at Al-Azhar Conference on Climate Change, the Grand Imam added,

Due to such paradoxical situation regarding regulation of the nexus between human progress and moral regress in contemporary human civilization, philosophers and intellectuals expected a sweeping threat to the entire humanity that could turn it back to prehistory eras. Many of those philosophers and intellectuals thus forewarned that such a threat has been rearing its head since the beginning of the 19th century, the century of evolutionary theory, the epistemic big bang in the different fields, the rise of diverse philosophical schools, and even the revolution against social injustices and human backwardness. Yet, it was also the century of colonial expansion, hegemonic usurpation of colonized people’s wealth and resources, demolition of their values and principles. Rather, it was the century when “science” was invested in the service of colonialist ambitions and its political conflicts. This is indicated by the false claims propagating the intellectual and civilizational superiority and excellence of the Northern races over the rest of human races. Then, it was alleged that the credit goes to the Arian race alone for all breakthroughs in the fields of culture and civilization, past and present. It was also alleged that America – as noted by the gigantic figure in modern Arabic literature Abbas Al-Aqqad – was “an arena of struggle among white, red, and black races; a field of boasting [of racial exceptionalism] among the immigrant ancestors themselves who belonged to different races, such as the Saxons, the Latinos, and the nations of the North and the South.

Then, the Grand Imam noted, “By the advent of the 20th century, people expected scientific, philosophical and cultural progress to disciple humanity conduct, elevate their emptions and curb their domineering and authoritarian tendencies. Yet, to their more vicious and bitter disappointment, the middle of the century witnessed a bloody acts record of two world wars that claimed the lives of nearly 80 million, without any logical reason, other than conscienceless, intellectual deviation, uncurbed selfishness, and racist claims of exceptionalism. What added insult to injury was the emergence of nuclear deterrence theories, which represented a new source of terror and enabled a few wealthy people to exclusively appropriate the resources of the sweeping majority of the poor!

Then, with the coming of the 21st century, a neocolonial policy emerged, which was more vicious and ruthless. I think it is undisputable that we, the Arabs and the Muslims, suffer the major consequences of such policy, in a sad reality marred by blood, tears and devastation.

The Grand Imam then reminded of the conviction of many contemporary wise figures in the East and the West, which they demonstrated as an incontestable fact: “Unfortunately, scientific progress was not coupled with a parallel moral progress. And technical progress, especially in the field of lethal arms manufacturing, lacked any sense of moral discipline that could harness it within the proper humanitarian course. It was even noticed that the more we witness scientific progress the more we watch wars kindled, as if the two were steadily competing each other.

It is worth noting that the sessions of the Third International Scientific Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development, will be held under the title “Climate Change; Challenges and Confrontation” over three days (Saturday, Sunday and Monday), December 18-20, 2021, in Al-Manara Hall, Fifth Settlement, New Cairo, drawing on Al-Azhar’s endeavor to hold a number of conferences, seminars and workshops in preparation for, and in support of, the United Nations Conference COP27, hosted in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022.