Grand Imam of Al-Azhar heads to Uzbekistan to participate in an international conference on Al-Imam Al-Maturῑdῑ
This morning, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Prof. Ahmed Aṭ-Ṭayyeb, travelled to Samarkand, Republic of Uzbekistan, to participate in the academic conference entitled, “Imam Abu Manṣour Al- Maturῑdῑ and the Maturῑdῑ Teachings: History and Present” which is held over three days from March 3–5, 2020.
The conference is concerned with biographical analysis of Abu Mansour Al-Maturῑdῑ and his writings, the opinions and thoughts related to the history of development in theology in his time. The conference also discusses the development of the Maturῑdῑ teachings after his death, biographies of his successors, their academic heritage, and the significance of the heritage of Al-Imam Al- Maturῑdῑ and his successors in handling critical issues in the present time.
Imam Abu Mansour Al- Maturῑdῑ was born in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. He was one of the most brilliant scholars of Islamic thought, who made great efforts to defend the Islamic faith, and respond to misconceptions raised by atheists and materialists, combining between both traditional and intellectual types of evidence. Al-Imam Al- Maturῑdῑ holds titles such as “The Imam of Guidance”, and “The Imam of his Contemporary Theologians”.
Representative delegations of many Islamic institutions, academic universities, and scholars from Uzbekistan, the birthplace of that great scholar, participate in the conference. Such participation comes out of their keenness to familiarize the nation with the efforts and heritage of great imams. The conference represents a practical illustration of the true teachings of tolerance in Islam.
This is the second time for the Grand Imam to visit Uzbekistan, after his first visit in October 2018. During the first visit, he held a series of meetings with senior political and religious officials in Uzbekistan, led by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, and Nigmatilla Yuldashev Chairman of the Uzbek Senate.