The Grand Imam of al Azhar says religious differences between Christianity and Islam have never been the basis of wars. Instead, the two religions had been exploited to make it appear so.
“We believe with certainty that Islam and Christianity have never been the origin of wars and conflicts, but rather religious faiths represent the opposite of conflicts and wars in which they are involved and exploited,” he said.
The Grand Imam of al Azhar is the Egyptian Sheikh Ahmed al Tayyeb.
He made the comments about Christianity and Islam while receiving Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan during an official visit to Cairo on Monday.
The Grand Imam said the two religions teach that all human beings be recognized as “brothers in humanity”.
He explained his Sunni academic institution is committed to exposing manipulations that use content from the Islamic faith to build ideologies of oppression.
Mnatsakanyan highlighted, “A Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together,” that Pope Francis and the Grand Imam signed last year on 4 February in Abu Dhabi.
That document has been hailed as an “unprecedented institutional event” in the history of Christian-Muslim relations.
In their meeting, The Grand Imam and Mnatsakanyan hinted at the possibility of enhancing collaboration and cultural exchanges between Armenian academic institutions and the most authoritative theological-cultural center of Sunni Islam.
The meeting highlighted their mutual concerns about religious fundamentalism in different parts of the world, discrimination on religious grounds and the exploitation of religion for political purposes.
Source
- La Croix
- Image:Asbarez.com
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