As part of his speech at the UN Forum for Building Bridges between the East and West, Egypt's Grand Mufti, Dr. Shawki Allam, stated that unity among religious leaders is essential for addressing misconceptions, and emphasized that the widespread of violence and terrorism is but an outcome of deviating from sound religious teachings that call for tolerance and coexistence.
"Humanity is in constant need of extending intellectual and cultural bridges that honor human commonalities in its quest for the good of all mankind regardless of race, color, or religion" Dr. Allam added.