Al-Azhar: Terror kills more Muslims than Christians, citizenship should replace caliphates

CAIRO – 26 April 2017: Terrorism kills more Muslims than Christians, and equal citizenship must replace the legal status of people applied during caliphates in the past, said Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb Wednesday.

Full citizenship is the main guarantee of equality in rights and duties amid attempts to go back to the times of the caliphates in the modern age, as laws naturally change over time and place, Al-Tayeb said during the second session of dialogue between the Muslim Council of Elders and the World Council of Churches at Al-Azhar headquarters in Cairo.

The phenomenon of Islamophobia may become a phobia of religions in general, including Christianity, leading to a fight between atheists and believers, he warned.

El-Tayeb also urged the attendees “not to believe the media lies” that associate terrorism with Islam, saying that statistics reveal that “terrorism has no religion or home”.

Destabilization is the aim of terrorism, be it by attacking a mosque, a church or a market, el-Tayeb said.

Additional reporting by Loai Ali