Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism released today a video report in 12 languages, entitled "Religious Freedom: An Essential Islamic Principle." This video is the last in a series of visual releases in Arabic and foreign languages by the Observatory.
The report highlights religious freedom as one of the most substantial entitlements that Islam had guaranteed long before the international organizations came to recognize and uphold freedoms, as clearly evidenced by God's saying: "There shall be no compulsion in religion."
In his speech at the conference of "Freedom and Citizenship: Diversity and Integration," His Eminence Prof. Ahmed Al-Tayyeb the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar stated that Islam draws our attention to the fact that freedom and liberation from strains, especially those imposed over faith and doctrine, are both substantial human entitlements consistent with man's inborn nature, noting that religious texts substantiate such freedom and liberation.