Switzerland's ambassador in Cairo, Markus Leitner met Monday Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Ahmed Al Tayeb, to discuss cooperation between both sides, Al Bawaba News reported. Al Tayeb stressed, in a statement, on Al Azhar's keenness to cooperate with the various influential parties in order to counter the extremist ideas that spread by terrorist organizations. He pointed out that Al Azhar always seeks to clarify the true teachings of Islam, which terrorists try to distort it and strike fear of Islam, as well as Muslims in European societies. For his part, Ambassador of Switzerland said that Al Azhar is the voice of peace and wisdom, which makes his country keen to cooperate with it, in light of the spread of wars and violence in various parts of the world, leaving several innocent victims behind. The Ambassador expressed the importance of the role played by Al Azhar to confront the extremist ideology, which led some young people to join the Islamic State (IS). He stressed that his country believes that Islam is innocent of the practices of IS and other terrorist organizations, explaining that some young people join such organizations because of their desire to rebel against society.
