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Al-Azhar’s grand imam to attend Bahrain forum alongside Pope Francis
Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, will participate from Nov. 3-4 alongside Pope Francis in the Bahrain Forum for Dialogue: East and West for Human Coexistence.
Sheikh Ahmed, the seniormost cleric at Al-Azhar and chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders, will travel to Bahrain on Nov. 3 following an invitation from Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa.
Over 200 religious figures from around the world representing all religions and sects will attend the forum.
Sheikh Ahmed and the pope last met in Kazakhstan earlier this month where they attended the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
In April 2016, Sheikh Ahmed received King Hamad at Al-Azhar, where the king thanked Egypt’s highest seat of learning for supporting Bahrain’s unity and stability.
During his meeting with King Hamad, Sheikh Ahmed said that Bahrain was and will remain a melting pot of cultures and ideas.
At the invitation of King Hamad, Pope Francis will travel to Bahrain in November, which is home to the largest Catholic church on the Arabian Peninsula.
According to Vatican News, Pope Francis, 85, will be the first pope to visit the predominantly Muslim nation in the Arabian Gulf.
Vatican says that Pope to visit Bahrain for conference in November
The Vatican announced on Wednesday (Sep 28), Pope Francis will visit predominantly Muslim Bahrain Nov. 3-6 to attend the Bahrain Forum for Dialogue: East and West for Human Coexistence.
Bahrain is about 70% Muslim, and it has a small Christian community - made up mostly of foreign workers - who practice their faith publicly in the two churches there.
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