Pope Francis: The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar was a source of inspiration in writing the new Encyclical "Fratelli tutti"
His Holiness Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, revealed: “Prof. Ahmad Al-Tayyib, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, was a source of inspiration in writing the new Encyclical on Fraternity and Social Friendship (Fratelli tutti)”. The pope added that the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar encouraged him so much to write this Encyclical when they first met in Abu Dhabi for co-signing the Document on Human Fraternity which confirmed that religions never incite war, hateful attitudes, hostility and extremism.
Commenting on the new Pope’s Encyclical, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar wrote on a Facebook post that “this Encyclical is an extension to the Human Fraternity Document as it reveals a flawed global reality in which the vulnerable and marginalized pay the price for unstable positions and decisions.” He added: “ It is a message that is directed to people of good will, whose consciences are alive and restores to humanity consciousness”.
On its part, Al-Azhar Observatory hails the Pope Francis’ statement considering it a very significant milestone in the history of dialogue between east and west in general, and between Islam and Christianity in particular. Moreover, the Observatory notes that such state of convergence, cooperation and mutual respect between the two distinguished religious leaders are the outcome of the efforts made both to consolidate the values of human fraternity. These efforts were culminated with cosigning the Human Fraternity Document on February 2019.