His Eminence, The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Prof. Ahmed Al-Tayeb received Prof. Volker Kauder, Honorary Professor of Political Ethics and Religious Freedom at the Free Theological University, Giessen, Germany.
Grand Imam stressed that Al-Azhar gives due consideration to the promotion of interreligious dialogue as an integral means to establishing world peace. For this purpose, Al-Azhar is open to cultural and religious institutions around the world, it also held many international initiatives with the Church of Canterbury, World Council of Churches, Middle East Council of Churches and the Vatican. Those efforts were crowned by the signing of the Historical Document on Human Fraternity with the late Pope Francis of the Vatican, a document written by voice of man before the voice of religions.
The Grand Imam asserted that Al-Azhar is very keen on the continuity of interreligious dialogue efforts, nevertheless ongoing wars and conflicts undermine those efforts, on top of which comes the assault on Gaza which killed thousands of innocent children, women, the elderly and young men who committed nothing but holding onto their home lands. His eminence said that the decision to war and peace has become exclusive to the hands of some irrational leaders which comprises a real problem to the future of Humanity.
On his side, Prof. Volker Kauder expressed his great pleasure to meet the Grand Imam, and his appreciation for all the efforts he exerts to establish the principles of world peace, and the culture of human fraternity. He also highlighted the importance of coordinating efforts of religious institutions around the world to promote interreligious dialogue and spread the culture of tolerance, and constructive coexistence everywhere.