Al-Masry Al-Youm, Egypt, April 9
If you have not heard the recent televised speech delivered by Dr. Ahmad al-Tayyeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, I urge you to find it online and watch it: once, twice, and perhaps even three times! While I watched it quarantined at home, the noble sheikh, in his fine noble words, managed to take me to all corners of the world. If you listen to the speech, you will discover that every one of Al-Tayyeb’s words has been carefully chosen. Every verse he quotes has been carefully curated. You will quickly discover that the sheikh speaks the language of religion, knowledge, and most importantly, of humanity. Sheikh al-Tayyeb proudly and unambiguously declared that Al-Azhar stands in solidarity with the peoples and nations of the world, without distinction between one country, one nation, or one religion, and another. His support extended beyond language, color, breed, or race. He spoke with compassion and humanity because he knows that this is the true essence and spirit of Islam. He spoke with love and kindness because he truly believes that God Almighty seeks to cure all of those who have been affected by this disease in the world, even outside of Egypt and the Muslim world. The noble sheikh spoke with knowledge because he believes it is important to thank our doctors and nurses, our scientists, and our public health officials, who risk their lives day in and day out to save those of others. The beautiful speech given by the grand imam represented everything that is beautiful about Islam and about Egypt. He reminded us yet again of the altruistic values for which Al-Azhar, and all Muslim people around the world, stand. – Suleiman Jawda (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)