Jerusalem, Rohingya crises top Al Azhar activities at the Cairo Book fair

CAIRO - 27 January 2018: Al Azhar are taking part in the Cairo International Book Fair for the second year. This year’s fair kicked off at Nasr City's fairgrounds on January 27 through to February 9.

Raising awareness of the Jerusalem and Rohingya crises among all spectra of society comes at the top of Azhar priorities and activities at the Book Fair this year.

After Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayyeb’s suggestion, at the International Conference in support of Jerusalem, to call 2018 the "Year of Jerusalem", Al Azhar dedicated a part in its pavilion to brief people with Jerusalem cause and its history through a number of booklets and documentaries.

Responding to Al-Tayyeb’s assertion of the importance of broadening and nurturing the awareness of the young generations about the Palestinian cause in general and Jerusalem’s historic status in particular, the Council of Muslim Elders, will organize a number of workshops, activities and seminars to raise awareness of the Jerusalem issue.

“Our youth barely know anything about the historical status of Jerusalem and the importance of the whole cause to our present, unlike the Zionist settlers, who bring up their children to hate Arabs and fill them with historically-false ideologies and concepts," Al-Tayyeb stated during the two-day International Conference to Support of Jerusalem.

Al Azhar strongly condemned the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, describing it as an “illegitimate and reckless step” and an unacceptable attempt to falsify history.

The participation of the Council of Muslim Elders at the Cairo International Book Fair comes - in general - to spread the culture of coexistence and peace, countering extremist ideology and emphasizing the values of citizenship, dialogue and positive integration.

Raising awareness of Rohingya Muslims sufferings also tops Al Azhar priorities for the book fair. Al Azhar counter-Terrorism Observatory will organize its first seminar in the book fair "The issue of the Rohingya Muslims and Azhar's efforts" on Saturday.

The seminar will discuss the latest developments in the Arakan state of Myanmar, create awareness of the Rohingya Muslims issue, provide a real picture of the deplorable conditions and ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslims and show the efforts of Al Azhar to ease their suffering and provide moral and material support to defuse the crisis.

In the framework of Al Azhar remarkable efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Rohingya Muslims, A relief delegation has earlier arrived in Bangladesh distribute food, blankets, and medical and shelter aid.

Sheikh Mustafa Abd al-Raziq has chosen to be “a person of Al Azhar pavilion” this year as one of the outstanding Egyptian Islamic philosopher. Abd al-Raziq was a rector of Al Azhar. As a follower of Muhammad Abduh, Abd al-Raziq wanted "to prove the compatibility of traditional Islamic philosophy with the rationalism of modern thought.”
Al Azhar pavilion will display documentary film and distribute informative materials documenting Abd al-Raziq life and scientific and intellectual career.

Al Azhar participation aims at communicating with all spectra of society to post them on efforts to achieve peace and combat extremism.

Al Azhar pavilion will offer new activities this year, including cultural events, theater performances in Arabic and English, religious songs and poetry in more than one language, and poetry evenings.

A number of seminars will be held with the participation of a galaxy of ulemas to discuss issues concerning the homeland and society.

The 49th edition of the book fair will host a lot of new activities for the first time, such as establishing theaters, cinema halls and fine arts halls, in addition to increasing the number of books dedicated to children.