The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Dr Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam has praised India for the co-existence of communal harmony and providing equal rights to people of diverse faiths.

Dr Allam, who visited several places in India during his six-day visit, shared his experiences in an exclusive interview with ANI. He said, “India has been the country that provides equal rights to each and every one of its citizens regardless of their linguistic, religious or ethnic backgrounds. Each one enjoys full citizenship and they are well integrated into the fabric of Indian culture and civilization”.

The Grand Mufti (chief Islamic preacher) elaborated that during his stay, he visited many Muslim universities and felt that these universities are open to students and faculty members of other faiths.

This according to him showed the commonalities between the Indian and the Egyptian culture where everyone is the same before the law and every one of its citizens enjoy equal citizenship rights. “I will share back home about the strong fabric of Indian society”, he said.

He also added that visits of clerics between Egypt and India have been very common. Dr Allam mentioned that they also have been receiving many Indian scholars and exchange students in Egypt.

Dr Allam also hoped that this exchange of scholars and students will only increase in the future. He also is hopeful for the Egyptian students that are coming to India to further continue their studies here.

When asked about the role of clerics in strengthening Indo-Egyptian relations, the Grand Mufti responded, “The clerics on both sides play a crucial role in strengthening bilateral relations between India and the Muslim world in general and Egypt in particular”.

Allam further said that he will be replicating and sharing these experiences that he had during his visit to India, back home. The experiences that he had about the strong fabric of Indian society and culture.

Further commenting about the responsibility of the interfaith community of the world to prevent and reduce ongoing international conflicts, Dr Allam said, “All world religions came to establish peace in society and peace in the world. Religious clerics and inter-faith communities should do proactive work in not only resolving international conflicts but preventing conflicts before they erupt”.

(Source ANI)