Azhar Imam urges religious leaders to promote peace, fight hardliners

CAIRO – 5 February 2019: Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of Egypt's Al-Azhar, emphasized that religious leaders shoulder the responsibility to create a model for peace that should be adopted by their followers and to fight extremists.

During his participation in the Global Conference of Human Fraternity launched in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, Tayeb urged religious leaders to work hard to build bridges of dialogue with others, adding that it requires courageous confrontation of hardliners, including those who adopt extremism in understanding the teachings of religions or those who seek to completely detach religion from human life.



Tayeb also lauded the in-depth discussions that took place at the conference and that focused on the humanitarian side and upright teachings of religions, under the aegis of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed.

The UAE's hosting of this important conference asserts this country's real determination to back all positive thoughts and highlights the great effort it exerts to entrench the high values of tolerance and co-existence, Tayeb stressed.



During the opening session of the conference, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that the Human Fraternity Conference is taking place at the right place and time, pointing out that the UAE is one of the few places in this region that is blessed with human diversity and human fraternity in its true sense.

The Global Conference of Human Fraternity was launched by UAE's Minister of Tolerance Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

More than 700 leaders, thinkers and representatives of different faiths gathered at the conference to discuss the critical importance of fraternity and peaceful coexistence.

The Global Conference of Human Fraternity focuses on a wide spectrum of themes, including "Principles of Human Fraternity", "Common Responsibility to Achieve Human Fraternity" and "Human Fraternity: Challenges and Opportunities".