Al-Azhar For Shia-Sunni Unity?
The grand Sheikh of Egypt’s Al-Azhar Islamic Center has said political disputes between Shia and Sunni Muslims are not in their interest.
Ahmad Muhammad Al-Tayeb made the remark in a press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, adding that division will only serve the interests of Islam’s enemies.
“We have no choice other than bringing together the followers of the two schools of thought (Shai and Sunni) and closing our ranks,” he said.
Al-Tayeb said his trip to Saudi Arabia and his later visit to Bahrain was in line with Al-Azhar’s role in unifying Muslims and removing the causes of discord.
“We have met with Saudi authorities and scholars and will meet with Bahrain’s officials and Sunni and Shia scholars as well.”
He also said that Al-Azhar plans to organize an international Islamic conference in cooperation with Saudi Arabia and several other Muslim countries to discuss ways for confronting the onslaught against Islam and Muslims.
Al-Tayeb made statements about the need for Islamic unity while Al-Azhar, as the largest Islamic center in the Arab world, held an anti-religious joint forum with Egypt’s Salafist groups last October to confront what the organizers called the spread of Shia Islam in the country.
The Al-Azhar Sheikh’s talking of Islamic unity comes as a surprise given that he has targeted the school of Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) before and taken divisive stands against Shia Islam.
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“We have no choice other than bringing together the followers of the two schools of thought (Shai and Sunni) and closing our ranks,” he said.
Al-Tayeb said his trip to Saudi Arabia and his later visit to Bahrain was in line with Al-Azhar’s role in unifying Muslims and removing the causes of discord.
“We have met with Saudi authorities and scholars and will meet with Bahrain’s officials and Sunni and Shia scholars as well.”
He also said that Al-Azhar plans to organize an international Islamic conference in cooperation with Saudi Arabia and several other Muslim countries to discuss ways for confronting the onslaught against Islam and Muslims.
Al-Tayeb made statements about the need for Islamic unity while Al-Azhar, as the largest Islamic center in the Arab world, held an anti-religious joint forum with Egypt’s Salafist groups last October to confront what the organizers called the spread of Shia Islam in the country.
The Al-Azhar Sheikh’s talking of Islamic unity comes as a surprise given that he has targeted the school of Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) before and taken divisive stands against Shia Islam.
1216827
