The advisor to the Grand Mufti of Egypt conducted a lecture to foreign students at the AUC:
· The relationship between the Islamic and Western worlds must be built on the basis of partnership and not dependency.
· Reform in Egypt will never be achieved except by Egyptian minds and endeavors.
· The religious institution in Egypt will witness significant positive progress in the upcoming period. The noble Azhar is the main and only reference for Islamic affairs in Egypt.
· Dar al-Ifta al-Misiryyah has moved closer to the concerns of the Egyptian citizens.
· Since its establishment, Dar al-Ifta has been an autonomous nonpartisan fatwa issuing institution.

Dr. Ibrahim Negm, advisor to the Grand Mufti of Egypt, confirmed that the relationship between the Islamic and Western worlds must be built on the basis of partnership and not dependency.
In a lecture he conducted on Wednesday to foreign students at the AUC (American University in Cairo), Dr. Negm added that reform in Egypt will never be achieved except by Egyptian minds and endeavors for they are the most able to understand the religious, cultural, and historical make-up of their people and homeland.
Dr. Negm pointed out that the strong bond between the Egyptian people, the noble Azhar, and Dar al-Ifta is based on acknowledging the scholarly, [religious] outreach, and fatwa issuance role of Dar al-Ifta as well as its historical inclination to defend religion and the nation.
The advisor to the Grand Mufti explained that the religious institution in Egypt will witness a significant positive progress in the upcoming period, confirming that the noble Azhar is the main and only reference for Islamic affairs in Egypt.
Dr. Negm said that Dar al-Ifta has moved closer to the concerns of the Egyptian people. He pointed out that since its establishment, Dar al-Ifta has been concerned with issuing religious rulings and fatwas in accordance with sound scholarly methodology while taking into account the reality of times, the interests of the people, consequences, and the objectives of Islamic law.
As for the policy followed by Dar al-Ifta, Dr. Ibrahim Negm confirmed that since it was first established in 1895, Dar al-Ifta has been a nonpartisan autonomous institution of fatwa issuance. This is due to the deep-rootedness of this institution where, throughout its history, a group of the best Muslim scholars undertook the office of fatwa issuance. Dar al-Ifta has followed a clear and defined path with respect to the resources and research methods and its conditions. Moreover, it has always followed a scholarly approach and has deep historical roots and experience in understanding the reality of times. For this reason and because it follows a moderate methodology and is able to understand the interests of people with respect to the objectives of Islamic law, Dar al-Ifta will always remain steadfast. The best evidence to the fact that Dar al-Ifta has fulfilled its role is the number of fatwas it has issued over the last two years and which total approximately 1,000,000 fatwas.
Dr. Ibrahim Negm reviewed the different developmental phases and services provided by Dar al-Ifta for Muslims all over the world and the various juristic departments created to meet and clarify the sound and moderate legal rulings. This is in addition to the agreements signed between Dar al-Ifta and a number of international organizations as well as its persistent endeavors to participate in all international events to demonstrate the true image of Islam and Muslims.