Al Azhar University and Mosque in Cairo
CAIRO: ARAB NEWS
Saturday 8 June 2013
An envoy from Al-Azhar in Cairo, raised the prospect of restoring ties with the Vatican yesterday but called on Pope Francis to take “a step forward” by declaring that Islam is a peaceful religion.
“The problems that we had were not with the Vatican but with the former pope. Now the doors of Al-Azhar are open,” Mahmoud Abdel Gawad, diplomatic envoy to the grand imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, told Italian daily Il Messaggero in Cairo.
“Francis is a new pope. We are expecting a step forward from him. If in one of his addresses he were to declare that Islam is a peaceful religion, that Muslims are not looking for war or violence, that would be progress in itself,” he said.
A ceremony in March, in which Pope Francis washed the feet of young inmates in Rome, including a Muslim girl, was “a gesture that was very, very much appreciated” by Al-Azhar, Gawad said.
He said that if Francis were to accept an invitation from Coptic Orthodox pope Tawadros II to visit Egypt, he could also visit Al-Azhar. “At that point, relations and dialogue would be restored immediately,” he was quoted as saying.
But Gawad ruled out the prospect of talks between the leaders of the world’s three main monotheistic religions mentioned in Vatican circles, saying Al-Azhar “will not take part in any meeting with Israelis.”
In 2006, then pope Benedict XVI sparked fury across the Muslim world when he recounted a blasphemous anecdote.
“Say, ‘O People of the Book! come to a word equal between us and you — that we worship none but Allah, and that we associate no partner with Him, and that some of us take not others for Lords beside Allah.’ But if they turn away, then say, ‘Bear witness that we have submitted to God.’” (Al Quran 3:65)
Assalamoalaikum to all readers, I have a problem with this article, Islam is a religion of Peace, Allah has attested to this in the Quran so why would any Muslim let alone Al-Azhar would want Pope to declare Islam Peaceful. Instead what Al-Azhar should do is to tell the Muslims to turn towards the real practices of Holy Prophet(May peace and blessing of Allah be on him. And accept the Imam of the age Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Until such time this happens, Muslims of today will continue to stray aimlessly. But time will come, not too far in future that Muslim Ummah will be brought to this realization that the only way they can establish real peace and path to true Islam is to follow the Messiah of the time.
As salamu alaikum wa rahmatullah. It’s hard for me to believe that the learned scholars of Islam have sunk so low and think so little of Islam that they have to ask the Pope to declare it as a peaceful religion. Unless and until Muslims of the world turn to Allah with sincere prayers, love the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) to such a degree that one will model his behavior in every aspect of life, seek to comprehend the Qur’an as the life-line to the life of this world and the next and finally accept the Promised Mahdi/messiah Muslim will continue to display the behavior of beast with extra low intelligence. May Allah cause us to be the light of the world and the source of peace for all.