Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayeb will visit Nigeria and France to “correct the image of Islam,” Youm7 reported Sunday.An Al-Azhar delegation left Sunday for the African nation to promote “tolerance and coexistence.” The delegation members are scheduled to meet with the officials of the Nigerian church.
Nigeria’s population is estimated more than 182 million, almost equally divided between Muslims and Christians, has been struck by deadly Boko Haram attacks.
Imam Tayeb is also planned to visit France in May and deliver a speech before the French parliament to address rising Islamophobia after a number of terrorist attacks in European capitals, Youm7 reported.
In March, Imam al-Tayeb went to Germany to hold similar meetings and delivered a speech before the Bundestag. In 2015 and early 2016, he visited a number of European and Asian countries, including the U.K., Italy and Indonesia.
Egypt’s Al-Azhar, established in 970, is the most prestigious religious institution in the Islamic world. It has embarked on a mission to “correct” the image of Islam before non-Muslims and Muslims recruited by extremist groups.
