Today, Monday, at Al-Azhar Headquarters, His Eminence Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, received Mr. Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Pakistani Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, to discuss ways to enhance Al-Azhar’s Da’wah and education support in Pakistan.
His Eminence Grand Imam At-Tayyeb said that our Islamic world is going through tough times, being afflicted with division and fragmentation in a way that has weakened it. He stressed that the only way out of this dilemma is to comply with Allah Almighty’s Command, “Do not dispute with one another, or you would be discouraged and weakened”, maintaining that Al-Azhar is keen on achieving unity, strength, and prosperity of the Muslim world and that it does not hesitate to provide all forms of Da’wah and educational support to the various countries of the Muslim world. Grand Imam At-Tayyeb also pointed out that the current circumstances have proven the urgent need for the unity of our Muslim world, its cohesion, and its rallying around its causes, stating, “I am one of those who believe that the occupying entity was planted in our lands 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 – a goal that they will not achieve, Allah willing -, the next day, they will begin planning to seize a new part of our Arab world and rob its wealth and resources.” Grand Imam At-Tayyeb asserted that in light of the global interest in women's rights and the holding of many international conferences calling for their ensuring and guarding their full rights, we find that most of the martyrs in Gaza are women and children as if the Palestinian woman is excluded from this global interest. We notice that none supports her or advocates the least of her rights, namely food, medicine, and shelter. A Palestinian woman is the least fortunate woman in the world, as she either lost her life to treacherous bullets or has been suffering 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 boost cooperation with Al-Azhar in addressing some internal challenges, most notably counter-extremism, by 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 in Pakistan.
Mr. Hussein also stressed his country's desire to increase the number of Pakistani students enrolled at Al-Azhar, noting that Pakistani graduates from Al-Azhar play a positive role in protecting the country from the dangers of intellectual extremism and promoting true Islam. He added that they enjoy credibility and elevated status among the Pakistani people and hold the highest positions in religious institutions and bodies.
Mr. Hussein also extended an official invitation to the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar to visit Pakistan, stressing the Pakistani people's aspiration for this important visit, which will have a great impact on various levels. Grand Imam At-Tayyeb welcomed the generous invitation and expressed readiness to visit Pakistan at the earliest opportunity. He added that he would like to meet with Pakistani scholars and visit the places that he visited more than a quarter of a century ago when he was Dean of the Faculty of Fundamentals of Religion at the International Islamic University in Islamabad.
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