Islam does not condone terrorism: Al-Azhar chief

Cairo April 28 (IANS/AKI) The Muslim faith is not a terrorist religion Ahmad al-Tayeb the Grand Imam of Cairo s prestigious Al-Azhar mosque - the highest seat of Sunni learning - said on Friday.

Islam is not a terrorist religion just as Christianity and Judaism are not Tayyeb told an international peace conference in Cairo on Friday attended by Pope Francis during his two-day visit to Egypt.

Islam should not be judged on the basis of the actions of a limited group of people who misinterpret its sacred texts Tayeb said.

In the same way the Crusades during the Middle Ages do not make Christianity a violent religion nor should Judaism be judged for the occupation of the Palestinian territories he said.

Before the visit - the first papal trip to Cairo since John Paul II s in 2000 - Francis said he was travelling as a messenger of peace.

The visit is aimed at improving Christian-Muslim dialogue and reaching out to Egypt s Christian minority three weeks after bombings at two Coptic churches killed 47 people.

The Vatican and Egypt s prestigious Al-Azhar university in February resumed dialogue sessions in Cairo that were broken off in 2011 after Pope Benedict XVI deplored an attack on a Coptic Church in the city of Alexandria.

Relations between the Vatican and the Al-Azhar earlier faltered in 2006 when a speech given by Benedict appeared to associate Islam with terrorism.

--IANS/AKI
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