Pope Francis met the grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque at the Vatican on Monday in a historic encounter that was sealed with a hugely symbolic hug and exchange of kisses.
The first Vatican meeting between the leader of the world's Catholics and the highest authority in Sunni Islam marks the culmination of a significant improvement in relations between the two faiths since Francis took office in 2013.
"Our meeting is the message," Francis said in a brief comment at the start of his meeting with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Vatican officials told a small pool of reporters covering the event.
In a statement on the trip, Al-Azhar, an institution that also comprises a prestigious seat of learning, said Tayeb had accepted Francis's invitation in order to "explore efforts to spread peace and co-existence."
The "very cordial" meeting lasted around 30 minutes, the Vatican said in a statement after the talks. In all, the imam spent just over an hour at St Peter's.
Tayeb's decision to fly to Rome, unexpectedly announced last week, followed the easing of serious tensions that marked the reign of Francis's predecessor, Benedict XVI.
Ties were badly soured when the now-retired Benedict made a September 2006 speech in which he was perceived to have linked Islam to violence, sparking deadly protests in several countries and reprisal attacks on Christians.
Pope John-Paul II met the then-grand imam of Al-Azhar in Cairo in 2000, a year before the September 11 attacks on New York transformed relations between the West and the Islamic world.
Monday's visit was effectively the long-delayed reciprocal meeting and the Vatican said that both clerics had "underlined the great significance of this new meeting".
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said in a statement that the pope and the imam had "mainly addressed the common challenges faced by the authorities and faithful of the major religions of the world."
These included working together for world peace, rejecting violence and terrorism, and the situation and protection of Christians against a backdrop of conflict and terrorism in the Middle East."
- Promoting 'true Islam' -
The pope presented the imam with a copy of his recent encyclical, Laudato Si', a letter to the faithful in which he urges the world to wake up to the threat posed by climate change and also calls for a rebalancing of the economic relationship between the industrialised and developing worlds.
Tayeb decided to accept the invitation to Rome as a result of the numerous conciliatory gestures Francis has made to the Muslim world since being elected in early 2013.
"If it were not for these good positions the meeting would not be happening," the imam's deputy, Abbas Shuman, told AFP on Sunday.
Shuman said Tayeb would be carrying with him a message for both the West and Muslims designed to promote "true Islam and to correct misunderstandings created by extremist terrorist groups."
"He encourages countries not to deal with their Muslim citizens as groups that present a threat," Shuman said.
"And he encourages Muslims in Western society to meld with their societies... it is a message for both sides."
After the tensions of the Benedict years, Francis moved quickly to set a new tone, sending a personal message to the Muslim world to mark the end of the first month of Ramadan of his pontificate.
The Argentinian pontiff followed up by pushing various inter-faith initiatives and he was accompanied by both Rabbi Abraham Skorka and Islamic studies professor Omar Abboud when he visited Jordan and Israel in 2014.
But perhaps the gesture that clinched the deal was the most dramatic piece of political theatre of his papacy: his April visit to the migrant crisis island of Lesbos which concluded with him bringing three Syrian Muslim families back to the Vatican.
AFP
Mon May 23 2016
![Pope and top imam embrace in historic Vatican meeting Pope and top imam embrace in historic Vatican meeting](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2016-05/71464014942_PopeImam.jpg)
Pope Francis (R) talks with Egyptian Grand Imam of al-Azhar Mosque Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed al-Tayeb (L) during a private audience at the Vatican on May 23, 2016. - AFP photo / POOL / MAX ROSSI
![Wajah, suara disalah guna 'scammer', Khairul Aming beri peringatan Wajah, suara disalah guna 'scammer', Khairul Aming beri peringatan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/41723702833_TBKhairulAming.jpg)
Wajah, suara disalah guna 'scammer', Khairul Aming beri peringatan
Khairul Aming meluahkan kebimbangan apabila pihak tidak bertanggungjawab menggunakan wajah dan suaranya untuk menjual barangan kepada golongan berusia.
MBSB Bank bekerjasama dengan INSKEN, MAIJ lancar program untuk komuniti asnaf
Program tersebut bertujuan untuk mentransformasikan kewangan sosial Islam dengan memperkasakan individu dalam komuniti asnaf melalui latihan intensif, sokongan kewangan dan bimbingan berterusan.
![Buli siber: Sophia Albarakbah kumpul bukti Buli siber: Sophia Albarakbah kumpul bukti](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/61723696968_SophiaAlbarakbah.jpg)
Buli siber: Sophia Albarakbah kumpul bukti
Aktres Sophia Albarakbah kini giat mengumpul bukti untuk mengheret pihak tidak bertanggungjawab termasuk pembuli siber ke muka pengadilan.
![Suri rumah dilaporkan hilang, ditemui mati dibunuh dalam bilik Suri rumah dilaporkan hilang, ditemui mati dibunuh dalam bilik](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/81723706198_TBsurirumahmaut.jpg)
Suri rumah dilaporkan hilang, ditemui mati dibunuh dalam bilik
Seorang wanita yang sebelum ini dilaporkan hilang ditemui meninggal dunia disyaki dibunuh dalam bilik tidur rumahnya di Indera Mahkota di sini pada petang Rabu.
![Faisal Halim bukti 'pendekar' sejati - Irfan Bakti Faisal Halim bukti 'pendekar' sejati - Irfan Bakti](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/81723294016_FaisalHalim.jpg)
Faisal Halim bukti 'pendekar' sejati - Irfan Bakti
Faisal Halim layak dilabel pejuang sejati apabila mampu bangkit walaupun berdepan trauma selepas menjadi mangsa simbahan asid pada Mei lalu.
![Polis mohon bantuan kesan Raisya Rasyiqah Polis mohon bantuan kesan Raisya Rasyiqah](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/61723705839_TBHilang.jpg)
Polis mohon bantuan kesan Raisya Rasyiqah
Polis memohon bantuan orang ramai mengesan seorang remaja perempuan berusia 15 tahun yang dilaporkan hilang di Beranang, Selangor.
![Simbah cat merah, orang suruhan ah long didenda RM3,000 Simbah cat merah, orang suruhan ah long didenda RM3,000](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/51723705134_TBAhLong.jpg)
Simbah cat merah, orang suruhan ah long didenda RM3,000
Seorang orang suruhan ah long mengaku bersalah atas pertuduhan menyimbah cat merah di rumah keluarga peminjam, Januari lalu.
![Latihan berstruktur sektor ekonomi digital berjaya stabilkan pendapatan, perniagaan asnaf Latihan berstruktur sektor ekonomi digital berjaya stabilkan pendapatan, perniagaan asnaf](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/51723705177_TBMyREF.jpg)
Latihan berstruktur sektor ekonomi digital berjaya stabilkan pendapatan, perniagaan asnaf
Lebih daripada 30 asnaf bersama ahli keluarga mereka telah diraikan di Majlis Graduasi MyREF Hijrahpreneur Skills Program (MyREF HSP) di Auditorium High Impact Research, Universiti Malaya.
![Polis sahkan pemain bola sepak bawa kerambit sebagai suspek kes baling bom petrol Polis sahkan pemain bola sepak bawa kerambit sebagai suspek kes baling bom petrol](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/71723704577_RusdiMohdIsa.jpg)
Polis sahkan pemain bola sepak bawa kerambit sebagai suspek kes baling bom petrol
Polis telah mengenal pasti seorang pemain bola sepak yang ditahan kerana membawa kerambit ke padang bola, sebagai suspek kes baling bom petrol di sebuah pusat hiburan di ibu negara.
![Bernama, Perkeso meterai MoU, manfaat 493 pengamal media sambilan Bernama, Perkeso meterai MoU, manfaat 493 pengamal media sambilan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/71723703465_TBperkeso.jpg)
Bernama, Perkeso meterai MoU, manfaat 493 pengamal media sambilan
Bernama dan Perkeso menandatangani MoU bagi memperluas perlindungan sosial kepada pengamal media sambilan (stringers) melalui Skim Keselamatan Sosial Pekerjaan Sendiri (SKSPS).
![Umat Islam perlu pertahan tradisi ilmu, akliah Al-Azhar - PM Umat Islam perlu pertahan tradisi ilmu, akliah Al-Azhar - PM](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-03/51711717388_TBSambutanHariAlA.jpg)
Umat Islam perlu pertahan tradisi ilmu, akliah Al-Azhar - PM
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menggesa umat Islam di negara ini untuk terus pertahankan tradisi ilmu serta akliah, yang dihidupkan oleh Universiti Al-Azhar (Al-Azhar), Mesir.
![Tambah baik STAM: KPM, Al-Azhar Al-Sharif dalam peringkat akhir muktamad pindaan perjanjian - Radzi Tambah baik STAM: KPM, Al-Azhar Al-Sharif dalam peringkat akhir muktamad pindaan perjanjian - Radzi](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2022-04/61649346799_RadziJidin.jpg)
Tambah baik STAM: KPM, Al-Azhar Al-Sharif dalam peringkat akhir muktamad pindaan perjanjian - Radzi
Kementerian Pendidikan (KPM) dan Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Mesir sedang dalam peringkat akhir untuk memuktamadkan pindaan terhadap perjanjian sedia ada.
![Dasar Al-Wasatiyyah Universiti Al-Azhar selari dengan konsep Keluarga Malaysia - PM Dasar Al-Wasatiyyah Universiti Al-Azhar selari dengan konsep Keluarga Malaysia - PM](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2022-04/51649326206_PerdanaMenteriDat.jpg)
Dasar Al-Wasatiyyah Universiti Al-Azhar selari dengan konsep Keluarga Malaysia - PM
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob berkata, konsep itu selari dengan konsep Keluarga Malaysia, yang bersifat inklusif dan merentasi sempadan agama, bangsa dan kaum.
![Najib, Mahathir, Hadi ada jumpa saya, cari titik pertemuan UMNO dan PAS - Harussani Najib, Mahathir, Hadi ada jumpa saya, cari titik pertemuan UMNO dan PAS - Harussani](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2015-12/61450354607_Harussani.jpg)
Najib, Mahathir, Hadi ada jumpa saya, cari titik pertemuan UMNO dan PAS - Harussani
Mufti Perak Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria mengakui dijemput untuk berbincang dan mencari kerjasama terbaik yang boleh dilakukan UMNO dan PAS.
![Multaqa jadi platform perpaduan pemimpin politik Islam Multaqa jadi platform perpaduan pemimpin politik Islam](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2015-12/71450332418_HarussaniZakaria.jpg)
Multaqa jadi platform perpaduan pemimpin politik Islam
Multaqa Serantau Alumni Al-Azhar Malaysia 2015 dilihat sebagai platform terbaik kepada pemimpin negara untuk berdialog berkenaan isu semasa terutama melibatkan isu berkaitan umat Islam.