His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Prof. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, visited this Wednesday morning, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria to congratulate him and the orthodox Egyptian Christians on Christmas.

The Grand Imam said that he, as well as Al-Azhar delegation, is pleased to extend to His Holiness and to all the Christian brothers sincere congratulations, hoping that this year be a happy year for all people. He stressed that the exchange of congratulations and visits reflect the love and affection between adherents of both religions and confirm the depth of the relations that unite all Egyptians, Muslims and Christians, to form a coherent national fabric.

His Eminence affirmed that history never witnessed before what is happening on the land of Palestine right now, stressing that what is happening is not war because a war takes place between two equal parties, and what is really happening is a genocide of innocent citizens by an army heavily equipped with the most powerful weapons. What we have been witnessing every day for more than three months is blatant terrorism, hate, murder and ethnic cleansing, and the shedding of the blood of innocent citizens in the middle of shameful global incompetence. 

The Grand Imam stressed that believers in divine religions have a duty and responsibility before God to defend the innocent Palestinians, especially after what we saw of failure to support the Palestinian people and stop this bloody aggression, and in light of what we also witnessed of the masses around the world being aware of what is happening, and their demonstrations which expressed their rejection of what this usurping entity is doing against innocent Palestinians. 

His Eminence proposed the establishment of a joint committee that brings together Al-Azhar and the Egyptian churches to observe what is happening in Gaza, around the clock, and to come out with one united voice calling for an end to this absurdity, hatred, murder, and terrorism.

The Grand Imam stressed that what is going on in Palestine is very serious, especially in light of the attempts to normalize scenes of killing children, women, the elderly and the young, to the extent that the number of martyrs reached more than 22 thousand, including more than 9 thousand children and six thousand women. His Eminence added, “We are not advocates of war and hatred, but we stand with the truth and support the party against which the most heinous crimes are being committed.” He stressed that all religions reject and condemn the massacres carried out by the Zionist entity, and that Islam has established rules for war and forbidden the killing of children, women and the elderly. Islam forbids aggression against animals, prevents harming anyone who is not expected to take part in the war, and calls for fighting only those who carry out aggression. He stressed that it is not possible to imagine that any religion justifies the injustice, oppression, killing and abuse that innocent people are subjected to in Gaza.

For his part, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II expressed his happiness for the renewed meeting and bonds of love between Al-Azhar and the Orthodox Coptic Church, and the renewal of hope for brotherhood among Christians and Muslims.  His Holiness expressed his hopes for a better future for our beloved Egypt and noted that this meeting brings joy to all segments of the Egyptian people.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros pointed out that a person must be a peacemaker wherever he goes, starting with himself and his feelings of comfort and psychological balance, which leads him to make peace and to spread it to those around him in societies. He stressed that we are all suffering from what is happening in the land of Palestine and the absence of humanity in all its forms, and turning deaf ears to calls to stop the aggression and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid, despite claims of cultural progress and caring for human rights. He affirmed that we have not seen the cruelty practiced against the Palestinians even in the animal world— a cruelty that banishes all meanings of mercy and humanity and has shown deliberateness and insistence on committing the most heinous crimes against innocent people.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros welcomed the proposal of His Eminence the Grand Imam to establish a joint committee in the Egyptian Family House that brings together representatives of Al-Azhar and various Egyptian Churches. The committee should observe the situation in Gaza, express its rejection of the aggression in a united Egyptian voice, and defend the rights of the Palestinian people.

His Eminence the Grand Imam was accompanied by a high-level Azhari delegation, which included Dr. Muhammad Al-Duwaini, Undersecretary of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Dr. Shawqi Allam, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Dr. Salama Dawoud, President of Al-Azhar University, Dr. Abbas Shoman, Secretary General of the Council of Senior Scholars at Al-Azhar, Dr. Nazir Ayyad, Secretary-General of the Islamic Research Academy, Sheikh Ayman Abdel-Ghani, Head of Al-Azhar Institutes Sector, Dr. Mahmoud Siddiq, Vice President of Al-Azhar University for Graduate Studies and Research, Dr. Muhammad Abu Zaid Al-Amir, Dr. Atta Khedr, Head of the Office of the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, and Counselor Mahmoud Ibrahim, the Legal Advisor to Al-Azhar Institutes Sector and the Islamic Research Academy.