Cairo – “We believe with certainty that Islam and Christianity have never been the origin of wars and conflicts, but rather religious faiths represent the opposite of conflicts and wars in which they are involved and exploited”. This is what Egyptian Sheikh Ahmed al Tayyeb, Grand Imam of al Azhar said, on receiving Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, on an official visit in Cairo, on Monday 14 September.
In the conversation he had with the representative of the Armenian government – the Egyptian media reports – the Great Imam also repeated that the inspiring criteria of the teaching imparted recognize all human beings as “brothers in humanity”, which also the teaching of the Prophet Mohammad “confirms the brotherhood of human beings”, and that the important Sunni academic institution is committed to correctly defining and exposing the doctrine and message of Islam, also to counteract all manipulations that use contents of the Islamic faith to build ideologies of oppression.
While Pope Francis is preparing to publish the Encyclical “All Brothers” on fraternity and social friendship, with reflections also inspired during the time of pandemic emergency experienced by all humanity, Armenian Minister Mnatsakanyan, in his conversation with al Tayyeb, also wanted to recall the Document on Human Fraternity for world peace and common coexistence, signed on 4 February 2019 in Abu Dhabi by Pope Francis and by the Grand Imam of al Azhar himself.
In their meeting, Sheikh al Tayyeb and Armenian foreign minister also hinted at the possibility of enhancing collaboration and cultural exchanges between Armenian academic institutions and the most authoritative theological-cultural center of Sunni Islam.
The official trip to Cairo by the representative of the Armenian government – who also met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi and Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II – is part of a historical situation marked by growing signs of conflict between Egypt and Turkey also on Middle Eastern scenarios. In his meetings with Egyptian political and religious authorities, Minister Mnatsakanyan recalled the “generosity and hospitality” with which in the past members of the Armenian people were welcomed in Egypt in past historical times, giving life to a local community of Armenians who have become “Egyptian citizens with a high sense of homeland”.
Source: Agenzia Fides
