-  We are ready to establish a center for teaching the Arabic language in Turkey, and we welcome the training of Turkish imams

 

Al-Azhar Grand Imam (GI), Prof. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, received today, Thursday, at the headquarters of Al-Azhar, Mr. Salih Mutlu Şen, Turkish Ambassador to Egypt to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between Al-Azhar and Turkey, as well as to discuss ways to increase Al-Azhar scholarships provided to Turkish citizens to study at Al-Azhar.

 

The Grand Imam said that Al-Azhar seeks to strengthen its relations with all Muslim countries around the world by receiving their students and sending Al-Azhar envoys to these countries. He noted that Al-Azhar has more than 350 Turkish students who study in various educational levels, and offers 8 annual scholarships to children of Türkiye to study in its prestigious institutes and university. His Eminence stressed Al-Azhar’s readiness to increase scholarships in a way that fulfills the aspirations of Turkish students to study at Al-Azhar and draw from its authentic scientific sources, and to provide them with all means of comfort to ensure their sound academic preparation.

 

The Grand Imam stated that Al-Azhar curriculum is the valve of peace and security for all countries of the Arab and Islamic world, and its persistence for more than a thousand years confirms its ability to confront extremism, and negligence, and its flexibility in dealing with contemporary and emerging issues. He stressed that Al-Azhar curriculum presents worldly and religious sciences, not only for Muslims, but for the whole world. He added that Muslims around the world trust Al-Azhar education because it is not politicized or subject to any agendas, warning of the danger of some countries’ attempts to exclude or marginalize Al-Azhar curriculum, and the effect this had on the spread of extremism, hatred, and sectarian fanaticism.

 

The Grand Imam also confirmed Al-Azhar’s readiness to establish a center for teaching the Arabic language in Turkey and to send Al-Azhar envoys to teach and serve the people of Turkey in learning the language of the Holy Qur’an, as well as Al-Azhar’s willingness to host Turkish imams and train them in Al-Azhar Academy for Training Imams, Preachers and Fatwa Researchers, and to allocate a curriculum that suits the needs of the Turkish society and the aspirations of its people.

 

The Turkish Ambassador, for his part, expressed his happiness for meeting His Eminence the Grand Imam at Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, the institution that enjoys the trust and respect of Muslims around the world. He stressed his country’s endeavor to strengthen relations with Al-Azhar, by holding joint conferences and meetings between Al-Azhar and Turkish institutions to discuss the most prominent challenges facing our Islamic world, and to come up with visions and solutions to confront and overcome them. He hoped that this meeting between Al-Azhar Al-Sharif and Turkey, represented by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, will result in many joint dawah and educational projects and initiatives.

 

 

Mr. Salih Mutlu Şen welcomed Al-Azhar’s readiness to increase scholarships offered to Turkish citizens. He added that this decision comes in line with Turkey’s desire to increase the number of Turkish students who want to study at Al-Azhar, and with the efforts of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and endowment institutions in Turkey to establish permanent housing for these students to ensure that they devote themselves to obtaining sciences and providing the appropriate environment for achieving excellence and diligence.

 

The Turkish Ambassador conveyed the greetings of Mr. Ali Erbaş, the president of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, and his desire to meet His Eminence the Grand Imam as soon as possible. The Grand Imam expressed his welcome for the visit and the strengthening of relations with Turkish ministries and bodies in the fields of dawah and education.