Grand Imam of Al-Azhar: The supreme interests of Muslims must be prioritized over sectarian differences

Grand Imam of Al-Azhar:  We accept adherence to schools of thought, but reject fanaticism toward any particular one, and everyone must believe in the principle of unity in the face of the enemy.

Grand Imam of Al-Azhar: The duty towards the nation must be prioritized over the duty towards the sect, and the nation must have a unified position in times of hardships.

His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders, Prof. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, revealed Al-Azhar's strategy for building bridges of coexistence. This strategy stemmed from the establishment of the "Egyptian Family House" in 2011, following the tragic attack on the Saints' Church in Alexandria. He noted that this house is jointly administered on a rotating basis between the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and the Pope of the Orthodox Church every six months, and that care was taken in its formation to avoid any indication of division or discrimination between religions.

During his speech today in the first episode of his Ramadan annual program “Imam At-Tayyeb,”  the Grand Imam added that after the success of the Egyptian Family House domestically, which was a pioneering and inspiring experience, Al-Azhar considered how to try to sow peace between the sects of the nation in our Islamic and Arab world, and to have “scholarly unity” as a start, so that this unity would form a single vision or a single common goal in people's conscience. He said: “From this standpoint, we thought that we, the scholars of the Islamic sects, would meet, and that we would hold meetings, and that our countries would be open to other scholars.”

The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar stressed that the Intra-Islamic Dialogue Conference in Bahrain was a great success, expressing his sincere appreciation to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain, who hosted this comprehensive conference that brought together representatives of different sects from more than thirty countries. The conference included Sunnis, Imami Shiites, Ibadis, and Zaidis, and everyone felt a sense of brotherhood, friendship, and frankness. The conference also came out with very important recommendations, and the participants discussed the reasons that created division and fanaticism for a particular sect, saying: “We accept adherence to schools of thought, but reject fanaticism toward any particular one, and everyone must believe in the principle of unity in the face of the enemy.”

His Eminence stressed the necessity of prioritizing the supreme interests of Muslims over sectarian differences, explaining that difference is a “divine law” based on the Almighty’s saying: “but they will not cease to differ” (Quran 11:118). However, he warned against the transformation of differences into fanaticism that weakens the nation, emphasizing that it is unreasonable that loyalty towards sectarianism be greater than the responsibility of uniting and preserving the nation. He added that the duty towards the nation must be prioritized over the duty towards the sect, and the nation must have a unified position in times of adversity, as is the case with existing unions, such as the European Union and other alliances, saying, “We are more deserving of this unity, and what we have in terms of the components of an alliance is much greater than what they have.”