Contemporary global events have made many lose hope in reaching peace, and hope lies in the influence of the masses on political decision-makers, Al-Azhar GI

The massacres taking place in Gaza are unimaginable and indescribable, Al-Azhar GI 

We seek to strengthen our relationship with Al-Azhar through academic exchange, President of Estonia

Estonian President: We hope for wars to end in Ukraine, Palestine, Lebanon and Sudan

Al-Azhar Grand Imam (GI), Prof. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, received today, Wednesday, at Al-Azhar HQ, Mr. Alar Karis, President of the Republic of Estonia, to discuss ways to enhance cooperation.

His Eminence the Grand Imam said that the message of Islam is to spread peace in the world, and it is the message from which Al-Azhar Al-Sharif derived its approach. For more than a thousand years, Al-Azhar has been teaching religious sciences and language, and hosting the youth of Muslims from all countries of the world, so that they can carry the values, literature, peace and brotherhood they have learned and spread them in their countries. He pointed out that Al-Azhar have more than 60 thousand foreign students, from more than 100 countries, studying at various educational levels, starting from kindergarten, to the postgraduate level. He stressed Al-Azhar’s readiness to allocate scholarships for the Muslim community in Estonia to join and study at Al-Azhar University.

His Eminence added that peace has become a lost dream, and that contemporary global events have made many people lose hope in achieving it. However, hope lies in people’s adherence to the values of religion and morality and investing in educating them in the values of fraternity and equality so that we may reach the stage where people can influence global political decision-makers rather than the opposite. He pointed out that what is happening in Gaza cannot be imagined or described and has gone beyond the stage of criminality and massacres. He stressed that Muslims' hearts are filled with sorrow and grief over the killing of children, women, youth and the elderly without committing any sin other than insisting on staying in their homes and homeland and refusing to leave them.

His Eminence stressed that other parts of the world are not isolated from the wars and conflicts that are taking place here in the Middle East, such as Gaza, Lebanon and Sudan, or those taking place in the West, such as Ukraine. He stressed that these wars and conflicts affect the entire world such as the rise in hatred and fanaticism in the world. He added that peace cannot prevail in the world while the people of Gaza and Lebanon are suffering day after day, calling for more pressure to be exerted on the international community to take a serious and decisive stance towards stopping the aggression.

The Grand Imam expressed his appreciation for Estonia's position in condemning the Zionist aggression on Gaza, and its vote in favor of the resolution granting full membership to the State of Palestine in the United Nations General Assembly. He stressed that this position reflects Estonia's commitment to humanitarian principles and international justice, and enhances hope for the international community's support for legitimate Palestinian rights. His Eminence pointed out the importance of such positions in shedding light on the suffering of the Palestinian people.

The Estonian President, for his part, expressed his happiness to be at Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, the prestigious Islamic institution, and his appreciation for the initiative of His Eminence the Grand Imam to allocate scholarships for Estonians to study at Al-Azhar Al-Sharif. Mr. Karis pointed out his country’s desire to strengthen its relations with Al-Azhar, and that these scholarships are an opportunity to strengthen ties between the two parties. He stressed Estonia’s readiness to transfer its expertise in the fields of information technology and digital transformation to Al-Azhar professors and students by signing a protocol for academic scientific exchange, and the exchange of researchers and students.

Karis expressed his hope to put an end to conflicts around the world, and to end the wars in Ukraine, Palestine and Sudan, so that we can deliver humanitarian aid to innocent people.