Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the
grand imam of al-Azhar, Cairo, told Vatican media on Tuesday he
hoped Muslims and Christian could work together against war,
poverty, ignorance and disease.
Speaking one day after an historic meeting with Pope Francis
at the Vatican, el-Tayeb renewed his "thanks, appreciation and
hope to work together, Muslims and Christians, Al-Azhar and the
Vatican, to improve human beings wherever they are, regardless
of their religion and belief, and save them from the crises of
destructive wars, poverty, ignorance and sickness".
The imam of al-Azhar, considered by some as the highest
authority in Sunni Islam, was the first ever to visit the
Vatican.
Pope John Paul II in 2000 became the first pontiff to visit
Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's most respected seat of learning.
"Al-Azhar has a dialogue, or better a commission for
inter-religious dialogue, with the Vatican which was suspended
under precise circumstances, but now that such circumstances
don't exist anymore, we resume the path of dialogue and hope it
will be better than before", he also said.
Dialogue stalled and was eventually suspended in 2011 after
remarks made by now-retired Pope Benedict XVI, which Al-Azhar
officials and millions of Muslims interpreted as linking Islam
to violence.
Vatican officials at the time said the then-pontiff had been
quoting a 14th-century Byzantine text and that his words were
taken out of context and misinterpreted.
Pope Francis and el-Tayeb met for 25 minutes at the Vatican
on Monday, talking about their shared commitment to peace and
rejection of terrorism during a "very cordial meeting", said
Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi.
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