Ashraf AboArafe
Grand Imam of Al-Azhar:
Our Islamic world is going through a difficult phase due to the division and fragmentation that has afflicted it, and there is no way to prosper except through its unity
The occupying entity was planted in our region to weaken us and distract us from our goals, not to live among us in peace as they claim
Pakistan requests an increase in the number of its students studying at Al-Azhar
His Eminence the Grand Imam, Prof. Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, received Mr. Chaudhry Salik Hassan, Pakistani Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, today, Monday, at Al-Azhar Sheikhdom; to discuss ways to support Al-Azhar’s advocacy and education in Pakistan. His Eminence the Grand Imam said: Our Islamic world is going through a difficult phase due to the state of division and fragmentation that has afflicted and weakened it, stressing that there is no solution to treat this disease except by complying with what God Almighty has said in His saying: {And do not dispute and [thus] lose courage}, stressing that Al-Azhar is keen on the unity, strength and prosperity of the Islamic world, and that Al-Azhar does not hesitate to provide all forms of advocacy and educational support to the various countries of the Islamic world. The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar pointed out that the current circumstances have proven the urgent need for the unity of our Islamic world, its cohesion and its rallying around its issues, stating: “I am one of those who believe that the occupying entity was planted in our country and our region not to live in peace side by side with Palestine and the Arab world, but rather to weaken our region and distract it from its important issues. Even if we assume that their malicious wishes were fulfilled and they took all of Palestine – and they will not achieve that, God willing – they will begin the next day planning to seize a new part of our Arab world and rob its wealth and resources.” The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar stressed that in light of the global interest in women’s rights and the holding of many international conferences calling 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 the Palestinian woman is an exception to this global interest. We did not find anyone who supports her or calls for granting her the least of her rights, which are food, medicine and shelter. She is the least fortunate woman in the world, as she either lost her life to treacherous bullets or due to hunger and lack of medicine.
For his part, the Pakistani Minister of Religious Affairs expressed his happiness 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, most notably combating extremism, by hosting Pakistani imams and training them at the Al-Azhar International Academy for Training Imams and Preachers according to an academic approach that takes into account the internal challenges of our country.
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, spreading the true Islamic religion, and that they enjoy a position and credibility with 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 of Al-Azhar to visit the country, stressing the Pakistani people’s aspiration for this important visit, which will have a great impact on various levels; His Eminence welcomed the generous invitation and his readiness to accept it at the earliest opportunity, and to return again to meet with Pakistani scholars, and visit the places that His Eminence 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.
