If this visit should take place “it will doubtlessly give renewed impetus and thrust to Islam-Christian dialogue”, said Adnane Mokrani, Muslim theologian, Professor at the Gregorian Pontifical University and at the Pontifical Institute for Arab and Islamic studies, commenting on the highly-anticipated news of the meeting, scheduled to take place on Monday May 23rd, between Pope Francis and the Great Imam Ahmed. The director of the Vatican Press office Father Federico Lombardi made the announcement. The details of the meeting are yet to be disclosed, but if it should occur it would thaw a decade of frozen relations.
“Al-Azhar – the Professor said – is a thousand-year-old religious institution, which represents Sunni Islam at global level, notwithstanding the fact that there is no Church in Islam. Today the University welcomes students from the entire Islamic spectrum, from Indonesia to Senegal. “It also played a role in the fight for Egypt’s independence from British colonialism”, the professor said, “although this role was downsized in recent years, as Al-Azhar lost a great amount of its independence in terms of the relationship between politics and the State.”
In order to understand the “historical” bearing of a meeting between the Pope and the Great Imam we should remember that “the relationship between the Vatican and al-Azhar went through a long-term chill in relations following Pope Benedict XVI’s address in Regensburg in 2006.”In 2011 relations grew tense as a result of an attack against Copts in Alexandria. Last year, in the month of June, Ahmed al Tayyeb was invited for the first time to Italy by the Community of Sant’Egidio to speak at the International Conference “East and West. Dialogues of civilizations.” On that occasion he said:
“It is perhaps time for the wisdom of the Sages to be heard in Eastern and Western societies, in the quest for peace, in a world worn by wars and conflicts, in order to restore happiness to humanity and save it from the destruction looming on the horizon.”
In an interview to SIR the Great Imam also spoke of Pope Francis: “Since Pope Francis’ election we have seen signs of goodness.” In the same interview he added: “If the Vatican took a step we would respond with ten steps in its direction.”
The step was taken this year, in February, when Msgr. Miguel Àngel Ayuso Guixot, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, accompanied by the apostolic nuncio to Egypt, Msgr. Bruno Musarò, visited al-Azhar with a letter by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Vatican dycastery for Interreligious Dialogue, in which the prelate confirmed his willingness to receive the Great Imam and accompany him officially in the audience with the Pope.
“Dialogue is always necessary – remarked professor Mokrani – It’s a never-ending commitment, a constant effort, and it’s never enough.”
The image of the Pope’s meeting with the Great Imam of al-Azhar “is highly significant in a world where the media plays a central role. It is a consequential modern symbol of unity and reconciliation. But symbols alone are not enough. There is need for major pedagogical efforts to educate people to dialogue and peace. There is need for concrete tokens of Islam-Christian solidarity, to witness love and mercy against hatred and exclusion. This will give us credibility and will make our joint commitment more effective.”
The Holy See’s “diplomacy” is far-reaching, and last week Msgr. Enrico dal Covolo, rector of the Lateran Pontifical University, visited the University of Qom, in Iran, with which the Pontifical Atheneum set up a cultural academic and student exchange program. “Vatican engages in dialogue with all Muslims, in their diversity and plurality, except for those who are not interested – if not against – dialogue. This is a great sign of openness that is largely appreciated.
Intra-Islamic dialogue between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, between al-Azhar and Qom, is what is still lacking. This lack of communication is caused by political interference. Interreligious dialogue must go hand in hand with ecumenical dialogue at internal level. It is what Pope Francis teaches us”, Mokrani pointed out.
Professor Mokrani encourages the dialogue between universities as areas for the formation and to lay the ground for a better future. “Religious universities – he said – are areas of culture and formation. If dialogue, open-mindedness and spiritual openness are part of the formation of today’s priests and Imams, we will have taken a great step towards peace. Religious educational institutions don’t have an army but the weapon of education, which could be slow, and sometimes require radical reforms, but it’s extremely effective when it becomes part of a long-term, efficient project.”
