Al-Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb and Pope Francis stressed that they would continue their efforts to cement the principles of dialogue.
According to a statement by al-Azhar, the Grand Imam and the Pope discussed the religious, humanitarian, and moral issues in today's world and the challenges posed by global changes and developments.
They discussed the vital role of religious leaders and scholars in reducing division and tensions worldwide and confronting extremist ideas.
They expressed their keenness to continue the constructive dialogue, cooperation, solidarity, and fraternity as mentioned in the historic Human Fraternity Document announced by Abu Dhabi in 2019.
Many challenges require strength and determination to endure hardships and difficulties, they indicated, adding that returning to the teachings of religions is the way to save the world from extremism and division.
According to al-Azhar, the Grand Imam and the Pope praised the efforts and initiatives of the Higher Committee for Human Fraternity in activating and consolidating the values of the document for coexistence among human beings.
On Monday, the Vatican, in cooperation with the British and Italian embassies, hosted a meeting on climate change entitled "Faith and Science: Towards COP26 Summit", which was held ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) on November 1-12 in Glasgow, Scotland.
The meeting was attended by various religious international leaders and scholars, who signed a joint appeal urging governments to commit to ambitious targets at the COP26 while promising to do their part to lead their faithful into more sustainable behavior.
The joint appeal called on those concerned to create practical solutions to save Earth from an "unprecedented ecological crisis" and work hard to reinforce the solidarity between developing and developed countries, reduce the risks posed by climate change, and promote common ethical values to address this crisis.
Sheikh Ahmed launched an appeal to denounce any activity that negatively affects the environment or worsens climate change while calling on religious leaders to perform their religious duty to address the crisis.
