Today, Sunday, at Al-Azhar Headquarters, the Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb received Senegal’s President, Macky Sall and a high-level delegation of Senegalese ministers to discuss ways of enhancing joint cooperation between Al-Azhar and Senegal. At the beginning of the meeting, the Grand Imam averred: "In my name and on behalf of the honorable Al-Azhar scholars, it is a pleasure to welcome the Senegalese President and his accompanying delegation. I extend my sincere greetings to President Macky Sall for chairing the next round of the African Union, and to express our confidence in his wisdom and his ability to address, through his chairmanship of the African Union, the problems and paradoxes that are no longer acceptable in the Continent of Gold, and to find solutions to the presence of extremist ideological groups, poverty, illiteracy, and abuse of its resources by the West. The Grand Imam thus "supplicated to Allah to help President Sall in settling disagreements between African brothers, reuniting the peoples, supporting the weak and the vulnerable, combating the spread of child labor and educational deprivation, and supporting the rights of African women”.

The Grand Imam also affirmed Al-Azhar’s readiness to offer all types of support to the citizens of Africa, harness its potentials and the expertise of its scholars and professors to the advancement of the continent, and contribute to finding practical solutions to the challenges faced. He noted that Al-Azhar has allocated scholarships for African students to enroll in applied colleges, such as medicine and pharmacy, in response to the needs of African countries. He also pointed out that Al-Azhar sent scholarly, medical relief and missionary convoys, dispatched Al-Azhar scholars, and established Azharite institutes in the heart of Africa to promote moderation, introduce true Islam and combat radicalism and extremism.

The Grand Imam also called on the Senegalese President to guide the African Union in its upcoming round to adopt a project of building the capacities of African cadres through monitoring the continent’s needs for doctors, engineers, teachers, and other specialists in all fields, and opening the door for academic, cultural, and medical exchange between African countries under the banner of the African Union. The Grand Imam stressed Al-Azhar’s readiness to play a pivotal role in this important project, when approved, by allocating scholarships to African students in the required scientific fields, and training African doctors and engineers. This is meant to attain self-sufficiency in the Gold Continent in human capable cadres, aiming towards the advancement of the continent and meeting its needs. 

The Grand Imam also underscored Al-Azhar’s readiness to enroll Senegalese Imams in Al-Azhar Academy for the Training of Imams and Preachers, at Egypt’s expense and with the personal support of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. This includes designing a curriculum that suits the challenges and needs of Senegalese society. The Grand Imam added that the Academy is one of Al-Azhar’s tools to promote world peace, pointing out that it has received global acclaim for its purely Azharite training program, which is always improved according to relevant developments.

The meeting involved talks on terrorism and extremism, the contributions of Al-Azhar Observatory in analyzing the ideas of terrorist groups and countering them in 13 languages, the culture of world peace, and the steps taken to consolidate the culture of brotherhood and coexistence through positive openness to Christian religious institutions in the East and West. Such contributions have culminated in the cosigning of the historic Human Fraternity Document by the Grand Imam and Pope Francis, Pope of the Vatican, and the founding of the Egyptian Family House (EFH), and positive openness to Christian institutions in the East and West.

The Grand Imam and the Senegalese President discussed the establishment of an African advisory council, comprising the sages and active personalities in African societies to resolve conflicts between brothers within the continent, by providing a vision about the situation in Africa based on a study of African societies and full knowledge of the nature of each society, and offering advice regarding appropriate solutions for each country, taking into account respective difficulties and the challenges.

For his part, the Senegalese President expressed his pleasure to be in Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif and to meet the Grand Imam and the accompanying Azharite delegation, noting, “I am pleased to be in this place that is known, not only to the Muslim world, but also to the whole world, for its pioneering role throughout the ages. I would like to thank you, Grand Imam, for the significant role Al-Azhar plays in the service of the African continent, and in introducing the correct image of the Islam, in the face of extremist ideologies that attempt to distort its image globally. Al-Azhar does so through its missions, and through enrolling thousands of African students at Al-Azhar University and institutes.”

President. Sall added that Al-Azhar's relationship with Senegal is a longstanding one, and that “we have many Senegalese leaders who graduated from Al-Azhar, and we cherish and appreciate them. Al-Azhar has preserved Islam through Islamic disciplines and the study of the Qur’an. For us, Africans and Senegalese, Egypt is the fortress of Islam, thanks to Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif. We thank you for the scholarships offered by Al-Azhar, and we request that they be increased, due to their strong influence in Senegalese and African reality. We also request the continuation of training of African Imams to confront extremist ideologies and prevalent anomalies locally and regionally. 

The Grand Imam offered the Senegalese President a copy of the Al-Azhar Memory and the Human Fraternity Document in French. Meanwhile, the Senegalese president affirmed his keenness to continue communication with Al-Azhar, and his appreciation for the Grand Imam’s support to Senegal during its presidency of the African Union.

The Senegalese President was accompanied by a high-level delegation represented by Mrs. Aïssata Sall; Minister for Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad; and Mr. Amadou Hott, Minister of Economy, Plan and Cooperation; Mrs. Sophie Gladima, Minister of Petroleum and Energy; Mr. Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, Senegalese Minister of Town Planning and Public Hygiene; Mr. Seydou  Gaye, Minister of Information; Ms. Victorine Ndèye, Secretary of State for Housing; Mr. Oumar Demba Ba, Diplomatic Adviser to the President; and Mohamed El-Amin Ag, Chargé d'Affairs at the Embassy of Senegal to Egypt.