Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
Al-Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb has offered a detailed defense of the institution’s approach to interfaith relations, rejecting claims that its openness to global religious dialogue comes at the expense of domestic Christian–Muslim relations in Egypt. In remarks published in an interview with Sawt Al-Azhar newspaper, El-Tayeb described such accusations as misguided and detached from both Al-Azhar’s history and its intellectual foundations.
Addressing perceptions that Al-Azhar’s engagement with the Vatican has overshadowed its relationship with Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, the Grand Imam said that the institution’s international outreach is, in fact, a natural extension of its internal openness. He emphasized that Al-Azhar had consolidated strong ties with the Coptic Church years before restoring relations with the Vatican, noting his long-standing cooperation with Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, as well as with the late Pope Shenouda III and other Christian leaders in Egypt.
Central to this relationship, El-Tayeb explained, is the Egyptian Family House, a joint platform established more than 15 years ago and co-chaired by him and Pope Tawadros II. The body brings together representatives of all Christian denominations in Egypt and has been widely praised, both domestically and internationally, as a pioneering model for preventing sectarian tensions and promoting coexistence. According to El-Tayeb, the initiative has developed an effective strategy for addressing disputes before they escalate and continues to play an active role through joint programs that reinforce citizenship and national unity.
The Grand Imam pointed to a series of foundational documents issued by Al-Azhar that, he said, have contributed significantly to strengthening Egypt’s social fabric and correcting misconceptions. Among them is the Al-Azhar Declaration on Citizenship and Coexistence, which was announced at the Al-Azhar Conference Center in the presence of religious leaders from Egypt and the wider Middle East. El-Tayeb described the declaration as a faithful articulation of Al-Azhar’s understanding of citizenship as an Islamic concept, rooted in historical practice and exemplified by the Prophet Muhammad’s establishment of the Medina state.
El-Tayeb also stressed that Al-Azhar has taken a firm stand against religious opinions that undermine social harmony, including calls to prohibit the construction of churches or to forbid Muslims from congratulating non-Muslims on their religious holidays. Such views, he said, have been explicitly refuted and addressed within Al-Azhar’s educational curricula.
In an unprecedented step, he noted, Al-Azhar incorporated these contested opinions into school textbooks for the third preparatory grade and first secondary grade, presenting them alongside scholarly rebuttals. This, he argued, demonstrates that Al-Azhar’s discourse on coexistence is not merely ceremonial or political. As an example, he cited the newspaper Sawt Al-Azhar itself, which for years has marked the birth of Jesus Christ in its pages, an initiative he said would not have been possible without genuine internal conviction.
Responding to claims that official statements by the Grand Imam may reflect political accommodations rather than theological principles, El-Tayeb insisted that Al-Azhar students are taught full citizenship as an Islamic norm based on complete equality in rights and duties. He emphasized that the foundational principle governing relations with non-Muslims in Islam is one of fairness, kindness, mutual recognition, and cooperation—not conflict, coercion, or hostility toward other faiths.
The Grand Imam reaffirmed that Christians have the full right to build churches and that there is no prohibition in the Qur’an or the Prophetic tradition against this. He went further, stating that Muslims are religiously obligated to defend churches just as they would defend mosques, citing a verse from the Qur’an that underscores the divine protection of all houses of worship in which God’s name is remembered.
“How,” he asked, “can anyone claim that these positions are merely protocol or publicity when they are embedded in our curricula and teaching?”
El-Tayeb concluded with a direct message to young people, particularly Al-Azhar students, urging them not to confuse extremist or exclusionary fatwas with authentic Islamic teachings. He called on them to prioritize ethical conduct, mutual respect, and good relations with friends and neighbors of all faiths. He also warned against ideologies that promote hostility toward Christians, encourage the excommunication of Muslims, or incite hatred toward the nation, its leaders, or its security institutions, stressing that such ideas are fundamentally at odds with the guidance of Islam and the teachings of the Prophet.
