The Grand Imām of the Azhar says that attempts by the West to distort the image of Islam are politically motivated and supported by Zionist media, according to al-Liwā’ al-Islāmī.
Dr. Ahmad al-Tayyib made his comments to a visiting U.S. delegation from the Council on Foreign Relations.
“There are malignant Western plots that aim to fragment the Arab world,” said the Grand Imām, citing recent events in Iraq, Sudan, and Lebanon as evidence.
Al-Tayyib believes there is a Zionist plot aiming to tear apart the Arab world so that Israel can fill the resulting vacuum.
According to the paper, the Grand Imām defines the Azhar’s priorities as threefold: 1) achieving and emphasizing internal national unity and cooperation between the various sects of Islam, 2) promoting international peace between all people, and 3) stressing that Islamic mercy does not encompass humans alone, but that Islam forbids the killing of all living things.
Al-Tayyib said Islam could never permit an action that targets the innocent, emphasizing the sanctity of places of worship, whether Muslim or Christian.
