Al-Azhar Grand Imam and Malaysian Prime Minister agree to enhance and intensify cooperation between Al-Azhar Al-Sharif and Southeast Asian countries

The Grand Imam and the Malaysian Prime Minister agree to establish Al-Azhar Centre for Arabic Language Teaching and a branch of the Muslim Council of Elders in Malaysia

Al-Azhar Grand Imam (GI) and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders, Prof. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, received His Excellency Anwar bin Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia, as His Eminence was keen to delay his departure to Azerbaijan, to receive His Excellency as an expression of Al-Azhar’s appreciation for the Malaysian PM and for the great welcome, warm reception and generous hospitality with which His Eminence was met during his recent visit to Malaysia.

His Eminence the Grand Imam welcomed the Malaysian Prime Minister and his accompanying delegation to Al-Azhar Al-Sharif. He stressed the strength and uniqueness of the relationship between Al-Azhar and Malaysia, which has been enhanced and advanced by the Malaysian students at Al-Azhar.

The Malaysian Prime Minister, for his part, expressed his happiness for meeting the Grand Imam and his keenness to meet him during his current visit to Egypt. He stressed the importance of the Grand Imam’s recent visit to Malaysia, and the impact of this visit on all the Malaysian people due to their great love and appreciation for Al-Azhar Al-Sharif and Imam Al-Tayyeb. He noted that the visit resulted in many important projects. He also pointed out the importance of the lecture that the Grand Imam delivered to the Malaysian people and referred to his  decision to translate it into the Malaysian language and distribute it to mosques, educational institutes, libraries and cultural institutions.

The Malaysian Prime Minister also confirmed his government’s approval to open an Azhari center for teaching the Arabic language in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, which will begin its work next summer. The government also approved the establishment of a regional office for the Muslim Council of Elders in Malaysia to provide its distinguished services to the countries of Southeast Asia, stressing that Malaysia seeks to open new horizons for cooperation with Al-Azhar.

The Grand Imam and the Malaysian Prime Minister agreed to enhance cooperation between Al-Azhar and Southeast Asian countries, in a way that serves to publicize Al-Azhar’s positions on various issues in these countries, enhance scientific and cultural exchange, and benefit from Al-Azhar’s voice to convey the experiences of these leading countries in the fields of economy and technological development, in a way that serves the progress of Muslims and the unity of the nation.

The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and the Malaysian Prime Minister also witnessed the signing of an agreement to regulate the enrollment of Malaysian students who have obtained a Malaysian high school diploma at the Faculty of Islamic Studies for Foreigners at Al-Azhar University. The agreement was signed by Dr. Salama Gomaa Daoud, President of Al-Azhar University, and Haji Mohamad bin Haji Hasan, the Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

At the end of the meeting, the Malaysian Prime Minister presented the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar with a copy of the translation of the lecture that His Eminence delivered to the Malaysian people during his recent visit. His Eminence also presented the Malaysian Prime Minister with the book: The Pope and the Grand Imam: A Thorny Path by Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Elders.