Cairo (AsiaNews) – Openness to dialogue with "whoever wants to talk to us", and opposition to fundamentalism and terrorism, in the conviction that ties of friendship could grow between Muslims and the rest of the world in the name of tolerance. Mouhammad Sahid El Tantawi, Grand Muftì of Egypt and Sheikh of the Egyptian University of Al-Azhar, the world's most famous Sunni cultural institution, proffered considerable tolerance in a long interview published in the French edition of the Egyptian weekly, Al-Aharam, in which he denied any clash of civilizations but defended Islam from those who, as Benedict XVI did, "talked against Islam and its nature", which is not violent.

He said: "We will not close the door of dialogue with anyone; our doors remain open for those who want to talk to us. Certainly, the statements of Benedict XVI affected us, because they gave to understand that Islam spread through the force of arms. We have responded to his affirmations." Shortly after the "lectio" of Pope Ratzinger at Regensburg, the University of Al-Azhar made it known that it had refused a papal invitation to go to the Vatican and a proposal to invite Benedict XVI to explain his reading of Islam, insisting instead on "clear apologies". 

Now Tantawi said in his interview: "Personally, I published a series of articles in which I gave a response, rationally and with strong arguments, to those who claim Islam spread with force, because there is no constriction in religion."

Tantawi then denied the theory of a clash of civilizations between Islam and the West, as the saga of the Muhammad cartoons appears to indicate. He said: "Civilizations are not about to collide. Civilizations confront each other but they do not clash. We are always for the confrontation of points of view, with the scope of showing that Islam is an open and peaceful religion. Each attack on Islam will receive an appropriate response from us. Differences between people have existed since God created man. This does not frighten me at all. They are not the first to attack the prophet Muhammad. Our task is to show with reason and conviction that these people who attack Islam are mistaken. And this is what we did when a Danish newspaper published offensive images of the prophet. The managers of the paper offered their apologies."

As part of the logic of spreading the "true face of Islam, founded on tolerance, that rejects violence and terrorism", the University of Al-Azhar supports "with all its strength" the activities of its preachers who travel around the world, because their speeches "are characterised by tolerance, logic and conviction, and because they enhance the bonds of friendship and peace between Muslims and all the peoples of the world."

In the interview, Tantawi said the task of fighting the spread of religious fanaticism fell to his university. He said: "Its role is in perpetual evolution and consists in the dissemination of proper Islamic precepts. It is a role that rejects all scourges like terrorism that are rejected in the same way by all heavenly religions. Al-Azhar must contribute to forming generations that are healthy in spirit, to give rise to a humanity that is marked by tolerance and wisdom."

As for the jihad, this "is the reality of self-defence: defending one's own faith, homeland and dignity. Terrorism is exactly the opposite because it is deliberate aggression against people and freedom."