13 January 2018

100 British Imams and scholars write letter of support for the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar

Imams and Muslim scholars of the United Kingdom have sent a letter of commendation for the work of Al-Azhar and the Grand Imam, Dr Ahmad al-Tayyeb Shaykh al-Azhar.

In an unprecedented first, British Imams as well as male and female Muslim scholars of the United Kingdom have come together and written a statement of commendation in a letter of support for the historical and grand institution of Al-Azhar in Cairo, Egypt, and its Grand Imam, Dr Ahmad al-Tayyeb Shaykh al-Azhar.

The letter, issued on Friday 12 January 2018, pays tribute to the long-standing history and service of Al-Azhar to the religion of Islam, the Muslims and the wider world – a service that spans over a thousand years. The letter acknowledges the leadership and role played by the honourable Grand Imam of Al-Azhar in light of the events of 2017 and the present challenges facing the people of the world.

The efforts of Dr Ahmad al-Tayyeb Shaykh al-Azhar in promoting the moderation of Islam and countering extremist and terrorist thought; building bridges with other faith communities around the world as well as institutions such as the Vatican in Rome, the Anglican Church and the Coptic Church; initiating conferences, peace-building initiatives and various councils bringing people together from diverse backgrounds; standing up for the right of under-privileged and persecuted people around the world and leading humanitarian missions such as for the Rohingya; and standing up for the right of Palestinians and the historical and religious issue of Jerusalem, have all been highlighted in the letter.

The letter comes at a time when Al-Azhar is to host a landmark international conference on Jerusalem bringing people of different faiths and backgrounds together as well as experts in different fields, which is to be held in Cairo, Egypt, in the middle of January.

Full text of the letter headed ‘Statement of Commendation’:

Al-Salamu ‘Alaykum.

As the new year of 2018 commences and the welcomed ‘Al-Azhar International Conference on Jerusalem’ being held in Cairo approaches, we – the under-signed British Imams and scholars of the United Kingdom – take this opportunity to extend gratitude and commendation for the scholarly leadership demonstrated by al-Azhar al-Sharif and its Grand Imam, His Excellency, Dr Ahmad al-Tayyeb Shaykh al-Azhar, in light of the circumstances and challenges of the present age.

There is no doubt that al-Azhar al-Sharif has been a bastion of Islamic scholarship for over a thousand years and has played a vital role in assessing and dealing with changing times and issues. It has maintained the central moderation and peace of Islam and protected the religion from extremist contamination. Over the centuries, it has gained prominence and a firm place in the hearts of Muslims around the world. Today, beneficiaries of al-Azhar al-Sharif are found in all regions of the world, and Islamic scholarship is indebted to the treasures of knowledge and wisdom that the luminary scholars of al-Azhar al-Sharif have presented over the past generations.

In recent times, the world has appeared at a crossroad, facing challenges in many ways; from extremist narratives plaguing the religion to bloodshed and violence perpetrated in the name of religion; from demands of globalisation to humanitarian crises in many lands; from economic expediency of the powerful to political chaos of the less powerful. In short, the present age has brought many challenges that the Muslim community around the world is facing.

In this regard, we commend and applaud the wise and scholarly leadership provided by the Grand Imam, Dr Ahmad al-Tayyeb Shaykh al-Azhar, at an institutional level inside al-Azhar al-Sharif, as well as for the wider world, including the Arabs and Muslims. In particular, we commend the honourable Grand Imam for the following initiatives:

1. Organising landmark al-Azhar international conferences, such as Freedom and Citizenship; Diversity and Integration, and the al-Azhar International Peace Conference, in Cairo, Egypt, with Pope Francis of the Vatican, and building bridges with the Catholic Church.

2. Building bridges between people by pursuing foreign tours to meet with state and faith leaders in many countries including Italy, Germany, Netherlands, France, Australia, etc.

3. Building bridges with Archbishop Justin Welby and the Anglican Church in England.4. Setting up the award-winning Egyptian Family House project, bringing the Muslims of Egypt and the Coptic

Church closer together.5. Leading the global Muslim Council of Elders.6. Developing the al-Azhar Centre for eFatwa Online.7. Setting up the al-Azhar Observer for Countering Extremism and Terrorism.8. Despatching humanitarian aid missions from al-Azhar to the countries of Africa and for the Rohingya

community in Bangladesh.9. Consistently highlighting the religious and historical reality of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, standing up

for the right of the Palestinians, and organising the upcoming al-Azhar International Conference on Jerusalem.10. Developing and strengthening the World Organization for al-Azhar Graduates and its branches around the

world, in order to spread the moderation of Islam to confront extremism, and to correct the false image of Islam.

We congratulate the honourable Grand Imam on being duly recognised as the most influential Muslim in the world for 2017 by The Muslim 500. We remain prayerful for the success of positive endeavours and for the institution of al-Azhar al-Sharif.

[ENDS]

Concise List of Signatories:

1. Shaykh Muhammad Imdad Hussain Pirzada, Retford2. Allama Dr Mohammad Shahid Raza Na’eemi OBE, Leicester

3. Shaykh Ahmad Nisar Beg Qadri, Manchester4. Shaykh Umar Hayat Qadri, Huddersfield5. Allama Masood Alam Khan al-Azhari, Nottingham6. Prof Masood Akhtar Hazarvi, Luton7. Imam Qari Muhammad Asim MBE, Leeds8. Shaykh Mohammad Yazdani Raza Misbahi, London9. Allama Pir Syed Ishtiaq Hussain Shah Gillani, London10.Maulana Shabir Hussain Rabbani, Glasgow, Scotland11.Allama Syed Tariq Masood, London12.Shaykh Hesham Mohamed, Stoke-on-Trent13.Qari Hafiz Muhammad Ali, Sheffield14.Bakhtyar Pirzada al-Azhari, Retford15.Shaykh Mohammad Imran Abdali, Birmingham16.Qari Sher Muhammad Qadri, London17.Maulana Hafiz Gul Muhammad al-Azhari, Retford18.Maulana Hafiz Mahboob Hussain al-Azhari, Retford19.Allama Zein Hud al-Azhari, Birmingham20.Imam Mohammed Asad Ali, London21.Imam Muhammad Habibur Rahman Khan, Dunfermline, Scotland22.Imam Abu Baqar Ali al-Azhari, Bradford23.Sahibzada Hamad Zahir Siddiqui, Birmingham24.Hafiz Tahir Rafiq al-Azhari, London25.Ustadh Jamil Akram, Retford26.Maulana Mushtaq Hussain al-Azhari, Retford27.Ustadh Hasan Jamaal Khan, Peterborough28.Imam Mansoor Mahmood, London29.Ustadh Hasan Jeelani, Nottingham30.Imam Mohammed Umar Nawaz, Cardiff, Wales31.Maulana Aftab Muhaudden al-Azhari, Batley32.Imam Kamran Liaquat Ali, Bradford33.Ustadh Mohammed Mahfooz Wasif, Burton-upon-Trent34.Imam Usman Kayani Chishti, Blackburn35.Imam Shahed Tameez, Birmingham36.Ustadh Abu Adam Akhlaq al-Azhari, Birmingham37.Imam Ahmad Ayaz Ur-Rahman Irfani, Bedford38.Imam Muhammad Irfan Chishti MBE, Manchester39.Shaykh Rizwan Hussain al-Azhari, Southampton40.Hafiz Musaddaq Shaheen al-Azhari, Peterborough41.Imam Iftikhar Daad al-Azhari, London42.Imam Hassan Rabbani al-Azhari, Glasgow, Scotland43.Imam Mohammad Amir, Stoke-on-Trent44.Ustadha Areeba Hassan, London45.Ustadh Mohammed Hasan Patel, Bolton46.Ustadh Haroon Mohammed, Stockton-on-Tees47.Maulana Mohammed Adam Raza, Retford48.Hafiz Issarar Hussain, Nottingham49.Ustadh Mohammed Mahin Saiyed, Birmingham50.Mr Imran Hussain, Birmingham51.Imam Muzzamal Hussain Ahmed al-Azhari, Manchester52.Imam Mansoor Mahmood al-Azhari, Kirkcaldy, Scotland53.Imam Faisal Ali Khatab, Birmingham54.Imam Muhammad Asim Chishti, Bristol55.Ustadha Farkhanda Khatoon, Nottingham56.Hafiz Muhammad Ahmad Siddique, London57.Qari Muhammad Abd al-Rahman Khan al-Azhari, Nelson58.Ustadh Mohammad Imran Sulaman al-Azhari, Oadby, Leicestershire

59.Ustadh Mohammad Haroon al-Azhari, Bradford60.Ustadh Amanullah Munir, London61.Maulana Mubashir Iqbal, Manchester62.Ustadh Haseeb Ul Rehman Akhtar al-Azhari, Banbury63.Abu Awais Imam Muhammad Zahoor Chishti al-Azhari, Oldham64.Ustadh Ibrar Hussain, Blackburn65.Ustadh Osman Ali, Birmingham66.Ustadh Kaleem Haider al-Azhari, Liverpool67.Ustadha Zulaikhah Jamil, Retford68.Ustadh Arif Adam, Bolton69.Maulana Muhammad Ishaq, Retford70.Imam Ghulam Moyhuddin al-Azhari, Ashton-under-Lyne71.Imam Mohamad Nizaal Khodabux, London72.Imam Hafiz Sajjad Hussain al-Azhari, Blackburn73.Ustadh Muhammad Ayaz al-Azhari, Coventry74.Imam Nazam Nawaz, Bedford75.Ustadh Dawood Masood, Luton76.Hafiz Muhammad Bilal Mudassir, Accrington77.Ustadh Faraz Abid, Peterborough78.Ustadh Naveed Hussain al-Azhari, Leeds79.Ustadh Zagham Ali Mohammed al-Azhari, Retford80.Ustadh Faizul Hassan al-Azhari, Burton-on-Trent81.Ustadha Rukhsanda Khatoon, Cardiff, Wales82.Ustadh Muhammad Ali Tanveer, Woking83.Ustadha Bushra Miskeen, Redditch84.Ustadha Sidrah Ahmed, Southampton85.Ustadh Amar Hafiz, Sheffield86.Qari Muhammad Zia, Oldham87.Mr Ansar Hussain, Milton Keynes88.Hafiz Siraj Iqbal, Stockton-on-Tees89.Ustadh Summon Zaib Hussain, High Wycombe90.Hafiz Shakeel Qadri, Bristol91.Maulana Khalid Patel, London92.Imam Assad Hussain, Stoke-on-Trent93.Ustadh Hamzah Hassan, Oxford94.Maulana Yusuf Murray, Birmingham95.Ustadh Ammar Siddiqui, London96.Imam Khurram Rafiq, London97.Qari Tanweer Ahmad, Glasgow, Scotland98.Allama Fiaz Ahmed, Glasgow, Scotland99.Hafiz Faiz Javed, Glasgow, Scotland100. Miss Aneesa Hussain, Dewsbury

For further information, relating to WAAG United Kingdom Branch, contact us via the following:

WAAG United Kingdom Branch, Eaton Hall, Retford, Nottinghamshire, DN22 0PREmail: info@waag-azhar.org.uk or info@alkaram.orgTelephone: 01777 706441Website: www.waag-azhar.org.uk