The grand imam of Egypt's famed Al Azhar institution Ahmed Al Tayeb, one of the Muslim world's leading religious authorities, on Tuesday met Pope Francis and pledged greater co-operation to fight terrorism.
The spiritual leader of the world's almost 1.3 billion Catholics in April became the first
pope to visit the headquarters of Imam Tayeb.
The grand imam said after the meeting that Islam was facing "a war against itself", and underscored that Muslims too were "victims of terrorism".
"It is a cancer which has metastasised to different parts of the world," and Al Azhar — of Egypt's highest institution of Sunni Islam — "is offering its resources and a greater contribution for a permanent collaboration aimed at finding solutions to terrorism," he told a meeting organised by the Sant'Egidio, a Christian community officially recognised by the Vatican.
Imam Tayeb also evoked his meeting with the pontiff earlier in the day, saying: "We discussed several issues tormenting the world [...]
Who are The National AE? What is Terrorism? Terrorism is the use of intentionally indiscriminate violence as a means to create terror among masses of people. With aim to create fear to achieve a financial, political, religious or ideological aim. It is used in this regard primarily to refer to violence against peacetime targets or in war
against non-combatants. The terms "terrorist" and "terrorism" originated during the French Revolution of the late 18th century but gained mainstream popularity during the U.S. presidency of Ronald Reagan (1981-89) after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings and again after the 2001 September 11 attacks. There is no commonly accepted definition of "terrorism". Being a charged term, with the connotation of something "morally wrong", it is often used, both by governments and non-state groups, to abuse or denounce opposing groups.
Who is the Pope? The pope, or supreme pontiff is the Bishop of Rome and therefore ex officio the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The primacy of the Roman bishop is largely derived from his role as the apostolic successor to Saint Peter, to whom Jesus is said to have given the Keys of Heaven and the powers
of "binding and loosing", naming him as the "rock" upon which the church would be built. Since the 1860s, the pope has also been head of state of Vatican City, a city-state entirely enclaved within Rome, Italy. The current pope is Pope Francis, who was elected on 13 March 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI.