- The “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together” is being portrayed as a “historic pledge of fraternity” and applauded as a “historical breakthrough.” The problem is that one of the two men who signed it, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, has repeatedly contradicted — when speaking in Arabic and appearing on Arabic media — all the lofty sentiments highlighted in it.
- Al-Tayeb’s predecessor, Egypt’s former grand imam, Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi (d. 2010), had, “without even being asked, removed all the old books and placed just one introductory book, [but] when al-Tayeb came, he got rid of that book and brought back all the old books, which are full of slaughter and bloodshed.” — Dr. Islam al-Behery, a popular Egyptian theologian.
- “In March 2016, before the German parliament, Sheikh al-Tayeb made unequivocally clear that religious freedom is guaranteed by the Koran, while in Cairo he makes the exact opposite claims…” — Cairo Institute for Human Rights.
- It is difficult, therefore, to see this document as anything more than a superficial show, presumably for the West, and al-Tayeb’s signature on it unfortunately not worth all that much.
A new document, signed by Pope Francis and Al Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, is being portrayed as a “historic pledge of fraternity” and applauded as a “historical breakthrough.” But al-Tayeb has repeatedly contradicted — when speaking in Arabic and appearing on Arabic media — all the lofty sentiments highlighted in it. Pictured: Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on February 4, 2019. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images) |
The two foremost representatives of Christianity and Islam, Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb — the Grand Imam of Al Azhar who was once named the “most influential Muslim in the world” — just signed “A Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.” The Document “forcefully rejects,” to quote Vatican News, “any justification of violence undertaken in the name of God,” and affirms “respect for believers of different faiths, the condemnation of all discrimination, the need to protect all places of worship, and the right to religious liberty, as well as the recognition of the rights of women.”
The Document is being portrayed as a “historic pledge of fraternity” and applauded as a “historical breakthrough.” The problem is that one of the two men who signed it, Dr. al-Tayeb, has repeatedly contradicted — when speaking in Arabic and appearing on Arabic media — all the lofty sentiments it highlights.
The Document, for example, asserts that,
“Freedom is a right of every person: each individual enjoys the freedom of belief, thought, expression and action… the fact that people are forced to adhere to a certain religion or culture must be rejected, as too the imposition of a cultural way of life that others do not accept.”
Al-Tayeb, however, is on record saying that apostates — that is, anyone born to a Muslim father who wishes to leave Islam — should be punished. As to the penalty they deserve, in July 2016, during one of his televised programs, al-Tayeb reaffirmed that “Those learned in Islamic law [al-fuqaha] and the imams of the four schools of jurisprudence consider apostasy a crime and agree that the apostate must either renounce his apostasy or else be killed.” To underscore the point, he cited a hadith, or tradition, of Islam’s prophet, Muhammad, saying, “Whoever changes his Islamic religion, kill him.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari vol. 9 no.57) Continue reading Pope Francis Leading His Flock to the Slaughter?

A new document, signed by Pope Francis and Al Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, is being portrayed as a “historic pledge of fraternity” and applauded as a “historical breakthrough.” But al-Tayeb has repeatedly contradicted — when speaking in Arabic and appearing on Arabic media — all the lofty sentiments highlighted in it. Pictured: Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on February 4, 2019. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)





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