Azhar Grand Imam welcomes Iraq invitation

The Grand Imam of al-Azhar welcomed a joint Sunni-Shiite invitation to visit Iraq and promote an end to sectarian strife in the war-torn country.

Sheikh Abdul Ghafour al-Samarraei, head of the Sunni Religious Endowments, and Sayyed Saleh al-Haidari, head of the Shiite Religious Endowments, met Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, head of the Cairo-based al-Azhar, the world’s leading institution of Sunni Islam, and invited him to visit Iraq, said Azhar spokesman Dr. Refaa al-Tahtawi.

“The three parties agreed on a number of issues, on top of which is the unity of Iraq,” Tahtawi said in a press statement.

“They also agreed that the visit of the Grand Imam will play a major role in promoting this unity.”

Tayeb, Tahtawi added, accepted the invitation and said he will go to Iraq as the head of all Muslims and not only the Sunni Azhar.

“The Grand Imam noted that al-Azhar started as a Shiite institution and has now become a beacon for all Muslims.”

Haidari expressed his optimism over Tayeb’s visit to Iraq and the role it can play in easing the sectarian tension.

“The Grand Imam is extremely sad because of the violence taking place in Iraq, which is ignited by foreign parties,” Haidari told the press. “He said he wants to see Iraq united and Iraqis living in peace.”

Haidari added that he and Samarraei presented to Tayeb a memorandum of scientific cooperation between the scholars of Iraq and al-Azhar.

“We want to launch an initiative to publish books that fight extremism and promote tolerance.”

Haidari has previously extended an invitation to the Grand Imam, but the latter said his visit to Iraq was contingent upon receiving a joint invitation from top Sunni and Shiite clerics in the country.

“He said that Islam is based on the unity of all Muslims. He also stressed that he holds all Shiite scholars and their work in high esteem and that he reads all the works of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr who he considers one of the most venerable Shiite clerics.”


(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid).

The Grand Imam is extremely sad because of the violence taking place in Iraq, which is ignited by foreign parties. He said he wants to see Iraq united and Iraqis living in peace

Head of the Shiite Religious Endowments Sayyed Saleh al-Haidari