Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, received today, Tuesday, at Al-Azhar headquarters, Dr. Sami Fawzy, Archbishop of Alexandria for the Episcopal Church, and Dr. Mounir Hanna, former Head of the Episcopal Church.

The two sides exchanged congratulations on the holidays of Muslims and Christians. The Grand Imam congratulated the delegation on Easter, wishing the Christian brothers in Egypt and all over the world that these occasions would bring them goodness and peace. The Episcopal Church delegation congratulated Al-Azhar Grand Imam on the advent of the blessed ˁEid ul-Fiṭr, wishing His Eminence and all Muslims that such occasions would bring them goodness, happiness and blessings, and a continuation of unity and cohesion between the citizens of the same country and the dear homeland of Egypt.

The two sides discussed the most prominent developments on the world scene. The Grand Imam said that the world is today witnessing many things that have caused the agony of contemporary man and the exacerbation of his crises. These are the chaos of false freedoms; the dictatorship of the freedoms spread in the West; making them available to certain factions to challenge beliefs and insult sanctities; and the fascination with technical progress combined with the decline of moral values. The Grand Imam stressed that the voice of religion is the way out of these aggravating crises from which man suffers, and the alleviation of his pain and the challenges he faces, and that interfaith dialogue stems from respect for the faith of the others, and the common values among the followers of the heavenly messages.

Members of the Episcopal Church delegation, for their part, expressed the need to respect beliefs, their peculiarities, and their sanctities. They said that freedom never means challenging the beliefs of others or provoking their feelings, and that the world today is in dire need of respect for faith to spread peace and values of coexistence everywhere. In this way, man can overcome some of the concerns and pains that surround him as a result of the successive global crises. The delegation stressed that the relationship between Muslims and Christians in Egypt is the best model that guides the world to enjoy possible unity and cohesion among peoples and gain security and stability.