Al-Azhar Delegation’s Visit to Iran 50 Years Ago (+Photos)
Gholam Reza Amirkhani, a faculty member of the National Library and Archives of Iran, told IQNA that the visit was historic one in the course of the relations between Iran and Egypt.
He noted that an Iranian cleric named Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Qomi had settled in Egypt years earlier and strived to develop proximity among Islamic schools of thought.
Ayatollah Qomi established an institute named Dar al-Taghrib for Islamic proximity with the participation of representatives from the four Sunni schools of thought, Amirkhani noted, adding that such activities were supported by senior Iranian and Egyptian clerics, including grand Ayatollah Borujerdi and then sheikh of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mahmoud Shaltut.
It was then that the Egyptian delegation travelled to Iran and held meetings with Iranian scholars in the cities of Tehran, Mashhad, Qom and Isfahan, Amirkhani said.
He noted that accompanying the delegation was prominent Quran reciter Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil al-Husari who recited verses from the Quran during some of the meetings in Iran.
The following audio clip features Sheikh al-Husari’s recitation of verses from Surah Ash-Shura (42) of the Quran in one of the delegation’s meetings in Tehran:
