Al-Azhar's Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayyeb and Pope Tawadros II, the patriarch of the See of St Mark and leader of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, attended on Monday a celebration marking the 10th anniversary of the Egyptian Family House in Cairo’s Nasr City.
The Egyptian Family House was established in 2011 to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
In remarks during the celebration, El-Tayyeb said the idea of establishing the Family House “emerged from the womb of sorrowful challenges… the most dangerous of which were the loss of security, peace, and social stability as well as the proliferation of terrorist crimes.
"We have been fully aware that if not fought, sectarian strife would have plunged the country into a sectarian war.”
The Egyptian Family House is in charge of implementing supreme mutual values among different civilizations and religions.
Monday’s event, divided into four sessions, discussed tolerance of religious texts and their role in bolstering social peace and the effect of citizenship on endorsing coexistence.
The sessions also addressed the necessity to fight violence against women.
The Family House works with the state to protect social values and moral traditions, boost citizenship, and address challenges, Pope Tawadros II said.
“The Family House has consolidated the ideas of love and understanding of the other,” Pope Tawadros II affirmed.
The House is “the fruit of deep and well-studied understanding between Al-Azhar and the Church in order to protect Egypt and the Egyptian people against strife” that destroyed neighboring countries, societies, and longstanding civilizations, El-Tayyeb added.
The Egyptian Family House, headquartered in Cairo, comprises Muslim scholars, clerics from the Coptic Church, representatives of various Christian faiths in Egypt, and intellectuals.
Source: Egypt Today
