His Eminence, the Grand Imam, Dr Ahmad al-Tayyeb Shaykh al-Azhar, strongly condemned and denounced the terrorist attack on a church in St-Etienne-du-Rouvray in Normandy, France, which involved the brutal murder of the 86-year-old Catholic Priest, Father Jacques Hamel, and injured several others.
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar stressed that those who carried out these brutal attacks have been stripped of the meanings of humanity and all the values and Islamic principles of tolerance that call for peace and the preservation of innocent lives without discrimination, regardless of religion, color, gender and race. The Grand Imam stressed that Islam demands respect for places of worship regardless of religion.
The Grand Imam invited the whole world to join together in the effort to irradicate the “cancer of terrorism”, which is threatening the whole world and claiming the lives of innocent people and threatening world peace, stressing that Al-Azhar is fully committed in the fight against extremist ideologies. He eminence expressed his sincere condolences to French President Francois Hollande, the victim’s family and the families of those injured.
