Egypt’s Grand Mufti, UK’s Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon discuss combating extremism

Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shawki Allam met on Tuesday with a high-level British delegation led by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the minister of state for the Commonwealth and United Nations, to discuss enhancing religious cooperation between Egypt’s Dar Al-Iftaa and Britain, particularly in regards to combating extremism, terrorism, and Islamophobia.

During his meeting with the British delegation, Allam stressed that cooperation among world nations in fighting terrorism and extremism has become a necessity as the phenomenon threatens everyone, not just one state or region.

The Mufti discussed efforts exerted by Egypt’s Dar Al-Iftaa, which is responsible for issuing religious edicts (fatwas), in confronting the extremist ideas and correcting false fatwas issued by extremist groups.

Lord Ahmad praised Dar Al-Iftaa’s efforts and the diverse and creative mechanisms used to confront extremist ideas.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been calling for renewing religious discourse over the past few years. He has also stressed that the war against terrorism must include an intellectual and cultural dimension to help correct distorted interpretations of Islam.

In 2017, Sisi said that a “new council will be created to take charge of reforming religious discourse and fighting extremist ideas in a systematic way, as well as drying up the sources of the terrorists’ funding.”

Source: Ahram Online