During a meeting with the French President at the Élysée Palace…
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar:
- We appreciate France’s stance in supporting the Palestinian cause and in differentiating between Islam, as a religion of peace, and terrorism.
- All souls –either Muslims or non-Muslims- are inviolable in Islam.
- Combating terrorism in the duty of all… and we are ready to help France in this regard.
The French President:
- We appreciate your role in combating terrorism and extremism…and your speech today is a step towards spreading peace and coexistence.
- Al-Azhar is a prestigious institution, and we appreciate the strong will you have with regard to spreading the true teachings of Islam.
- We are grateful for your humane stance in visiting the Bataclan.
The meeting of His Eminence Prof. Ahmed el-Tayyib, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders today – Thursday - with the French President, François Hollande, at Élysée Palace in Paris receives a great official and general welcome.
During the meeting, the Grand Imam stressed that French-Egyptian ties are long-standing and diverse ones. He also pointed out that Al-Azhar appreciates the French stances in supporting the Palestinian cause and the French President's attitudes that always differentiate between Islam, as a religion of peace, and terrorism.
El-Tayyib explained that Islam offers sanctity to the lives of all people, whether Muslims or non-Muslims, stressing that combating terrorism is everyone's duty and that Al-Azhar is willing to assist France as much as possible in fighting terrorism, expressing his appreciation of the role played by France in combating terrorism.
The Grand Imam pointed out that combating extremist ideology requires a comprehensive outlook that involves everyone, while giving more attention to the youth and making more efforts to make them aware of the dangers of extremism and terrorism.
El-Tayyib further said that Al-Azhar is keen on constant communication with all cultures and civilizations for the purpose of spreading moderate ideology, peace, coexistence and rejection of violence and terrorism, pointing out that Al-Azhar has a French Cultural Center at Al-Azhar Mosque that teaches the French language, out of Al-Azhar's keenness on achieving openness to the French culture and other cultures.
On his part, Hollande welcomed the Grand Imam and expressed his appreciation and that of his government of the efforts made by the Grand Imam in combating terrorism and spreading moderate ideology, tolerance and peace. He further said, "We are fully aware of the prestigious status of Al-Azhar. We also appreciate the strong will this institution has with regard to spreading the authentic faith."
Hollande expressed his gratitude and that of the French people for the Imam's visit to the Bataclan theatre of Paris that witnessed a terrorist attack last November that led to the fall of many victims, affirming that this humane attitude reflects courage and insistence on fighting extremism and terrorism.
Moreover, The French President expressed his thanks to the Grand Imam for the universal speech he delivered to the European peoples and to Muslims all over the world, confirming that such a speech would contribute to correct misconceptions about Islam. He also pointed out that his country tries to make Muslims live in France with freedom and dignity, and therefore it has founded the French Council of the Muslim Faith and the Forum for Dialogue in order to establish relationships with all the institutions representing French Muslims.
The French President expressed his country’s desire to cooperate with Al-Azhar in training Imams and to exchange experiences and knowledge with the scholars of Al-Azhar in combating extremism and terrorism, showing that such cooperation may expand to include preparing joint studies and researches and to provide scholarships for students from Al-Azahr for purposes of communication and exchange of experiences, especially he is aware of the Grand Imam’s openness to the French culture. Hollande also stressed the necessity of reaching a political solution for the Palestinian cause, showing that his country has issued an initiative to solve this problem, especially as France has good relations with Egypt, which is a key country in the Middle East.
At the end of the meeting, the French President said it is necessary to make all efforts and promote all measures to spread the culture of interfaith dialogue in France, emphasizing that he understands such necessity, especially in the current time as the world faces many challenges.
Hollande has stressed the significance of the meeting between the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and Pope Francis held yesterday in Rome, confirming that the meeting came at a crucial time to stress the importance of interfaith dialogue and peaceful coexistence. The President also expressed his personal appreciation for the Grand Imam for such necessary step that aims at achieving better life for humanity as a whole.
The meeting was attended from the French side by: Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French Foreign Minister; Bernard Cazeneuve, the Interior Minister, and Adviser to the President for Religious Affairs; and from Al-Azhar by: Prof. Mahmoud Hamdy Zaqzouq, the Director of Al-Azhar Center for Dialogue; and Judge Muhammed Abdel Salam, the Legal Advisor to the Grand Imam The meeting was also attended by the Egyptian ambassador to France Ehab Badawi.