MoU between Arab League, Azhar to Combat Terrorism

 Flag of the Arab League
Flag of the Arab League
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MoU between Arab League, Azhar to Combat Terrorism

 Flag of the Arab League
Flag of the Arab League

Cairo- The Arab League and Al Azhar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) Wednesday to promote joint cooperation between the two sides in promoting dialogue and disseminating the tolerant and the moderate teachings of Islam.

The MoU was signed between Arab League's Assistant Secretary General for Social Affairs Ambassador Badr el Din Alali and Al Azhar spokesman Abbas Shoman.

The two sides work within the framework of a strategic vision to confront attempts to insult Islam and distort its noble values, contributing to presenting the correct image of the Arab Islamic civilization and its contribution to the enrichment of human civilization.

Sources at Al Azhar said that “the memorandum of understanding also enables the exchange of experiences and visits between the two sides to hold consultations in areas of common interest.”

Alali, meanwhile, underlined the importance of the MoU, especially that Al Azhar is a representative of the moderate religious institution in the Islamic world.

Shoman, for his part, described cooperation between Al Azhar and the Arab Leagu
e as long-standing.

He also underlined the importance of cooperation between the various institutions in order to combat terrorism in the Arab countries and Islamophobia in the west.

The Arab League and the Al Azhar stressed the importance of establishing a moderate religious discourse inspired by established religious values rather than challenging the modern era’s spirit or hindering openness to the world and the principles of divine religions.



Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Resolution 1701 Only Tangible Proposal to End Lebanon Conflict

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Resolution 1701 Only Tangible Proposal to End Lebanon Conflict

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)

Politicians in Beirut said they have not received any credible information about Washington resuming its mediation efforts towards reaching a ceasefire in Lebanon despite reports to the contrary.

Efforts came to a halt after US envoy Amos Hochstein’s last visit to Beirut three weeks ago.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri dismissed the reports as media fodder, saying nothing official has been received.

Lebanon is awaiting tangible proposals on which it can build its position, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The only credible proposal on the table is United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, whose articles must be implemented in full by Lebanon and Israel, “not just Lebanon alone,” he stressed.

Resolution 1701 was issued to end the 2006 July war between Hezbollah and Israel and calls for removing all weapons from southern Lebanon and that the only armed presence there be restricted to the army and UN peacekeepers.

Western diplomatic sources in Beirut told Asharq Al-Awsat that Berri opposes one of the most important articles of the proposed solution to end the current conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

He is opposed to the German and British participation in the proposed mechanism to monitor the implementation of resolution 1701. The other participants are the United States and France.

Other sources said Berri is opposed to the mechanism itself since one is already available and it is embodied in the UN peacekeepers, whom the US and France can join.

The sources revealed that the solution to the conflict has a foreign and internal aspect. The foreign one includes Israel, the US and Russia and seeks guarantees that would prevent Hezbollah from rearming itself. The second covers Lebanese guarantees on the implementation of resolution 1701.

Berri refused to comment on the media reports, but told Asharq Al-Awsat that this was the first time that discussions are being held about guarantees.

He added that “Israel is now in crisis because it has failed to achieve its military objectives, so it has resorted to more killing and destruction undeterred.”

He highlighted the “steadfastness of the UN peacekeepers in the South who have refused to leave their positions despite the repeated Israeli attacks.”