Dr. Shawki Allam, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, initiated his tour of Europe to correct the image of Islam in the west by meeting Roland Blastrak, the Dutch minister of interior and Renee Jones, the deputy of the minister of foreign affairs. During the meeting, Dr. Shawki confirmed that Egypt is a pivotal country and that there can be no stability in the region without Egypt’s presence. Egypt therefore stands in the front lines of resistance in the war against terrorism.

He said that the war against extremism necessitates constant efforts and cooperation to stop extremists from stealing our present and future, adding that Egypt is keen to cooperate with European countries to promote international peace .

During the meeting, Dr. Shawki stressed the importance of spreading the culture of coexistence through the many different elements of common ground shared by the followers of different faiths. He also expounded Dar al-Ifta’s swift response and deconstruction of extremist ideologies. Dr. Shawki added that we must not permit ourselves to surrender to the inevitability of following a path which will end with a clash of civilizations.

Dr. Allam confirmed that extremists lack the necessary qualifications to discuss Islamic law and morals, are the product of troubled environments and rely on distorted and aberrant interpretations. Their goal is therefore to achieve political gains without any religious basis.