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18:13 GMT
CAIRO, Jan 24 (KUNA) -- The Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Dr. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb
said Monday the defamation campaign targeting Islam in the West is politically
motivated.
"The campaign spearheaded by western media moguls aims to promote unfair
stereotypes about Islam in contradictions of the true Islamic values of
tolerance and moderation being advocated by Al-Azhar," a statement issued by
Al-Azhar Sheikhdom quoted him as saying.
Al-Tayyeb made the remarks during his meeting here with a delegation from
the US Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).
"Muslims have a long history of friendly relations with non-Muslims over
the last 14 centuries," he noted.
Dr. Al-Tayyeb decried "the malicious" western plans aiming to fragment the
Arab world, citing as examples the situations in Iraq, Sudan and Lebanon as
well as the Maghreb countries.
He also condemned strongly the purported plots to divide Egypt, "the
world's oldest country with coherent society," into three Muslim, Christian
and Noban states.
"There is a Zionist plot aiming to defragment the Arab world with a view to
posing Israel as the sole dominant power in the Middle East," he stressed.
Acknowledging that there are "wise voices" in the west, the grand sheikh
said these voices are "less loud and less influential" than the hostile ones.
Meanwhile, he briefed his guests on the educational system of Al-Azhar
University as well as the efforts being made to modernize the prestigious
institutions.
A group of students from Yale University are studying Arabic and Islamic
sciences at Al-Azhar University for a full semester, he told his guests noting
that it is a priority for his institution to strengthen national unity,
strengthen the coherence of the social texture of Egypt and promote peace
worldwide. (end)
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