Grand Imam of Al-Azhar: Our Islamic World Is Going through Tough Period Due to Division and Fragmentation, and There Is No Way to Prosperity Except through Unity
Grand Imam of Al-Azhar: Occupying Entity Was Planted in Our Region to Weaken and Distract Us from Our Goals, Not to Live Among Us in Peace as They Claim
Pakistan Requests Increase in Number of Its Students Enrolled at Al-Azhar
His Eminence the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Prof Ahmad at-Tayyeb, received Mr. Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Pakistani Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Dialogue, at al-Azhar headquarters, to discuss ways to enhance al-Azhar’s dawah and education support in Pakistan.
The Grand Imam said that our Islamic world is going through a tough period due to the state of division and fragmentation that has afflicted and weakened it. He emphasized that there is no remedy for this disease except by complying with what Allah Almighty command “Dispute not one with another, lest you falter” [Q. 8: 46]. He stressed that al-Azhar is keen on the unity, strength, and prosperity of the Islamic world and that it does not hesitate to provide all aspects of dawah and educational support to various countries of the Islamic world.
In addition, he pointed out that the current circumstances have proven the urgent need for the unity and cohesion of our Islamic world and its rallying around its causes. He declared, “I am among those who believe that the occupying entity was planted in our countries and region not to live in peace side by side with Palestine and the Arab world, but rather to weaken our region and distract its focus from its important issues. If, hypothetically, their malicious wishes were fulfilled and they took all of Palestine – which will not happen, Allah willing – they would start planning the next day to seize a new part of our Arab world and plunder its resources.”
He also asserted that amid the global attention to women’s rights and the holding of many international conferences that call for their rights, protection and granting them their full rights, we find that most of the martyrs in Gaza are women and children as if Palestinian women are excluded from this global concern. We notice that none supports them or call for granting them their most basic rights of food, medicine and shelter. They are the least fortunate women in the world, as they lose their lives either by treacherous bullets or due to hunger and lack of medicine.
For his part, Mr. Hussein expressed his pleasure at meeting the Grand Imam of al-Azhar and his country’s constant endeavor to enhance cooperation with al-Azhar in addressing some internal challenges. Among these is combating extremism, through hosting Pakistani imams and training them at Al-Azhar International Academy for Training Imams and Preachers according to an academic approach that takes into account the internal challenges of our countries.
Moreover, the Pakistani Minister stressed his country’s desire to increase the number of Pakistani students coming to study at al-Azhar, noting that al-Azhar graduates in Pakistan play a positive role in protecting the country from the dangers of intellectual extremism and spreading the true Islamic religion. They enjoy a high status and credibility among the Pakistani people and hold the highest positions in religious institutions and bodies.
The Pakistani Minister also extended an official invitation to the Grand Imam to visit Pakistan, stressing the Pakistani people’s aspiration for this important visit, which will have a great impact on various levels. At-Tayyeb welcomed the generous invitation and expressed his readiness to visit Pakistan at the earliest opportunity. He would also like to meet with Pakistani scholars and visit the places he visited more than a quarter of a century ago when he held the position of Dean of the Faculty of Fundamentals of Religion at the International Islamic University in Islamabad.
