Top Sunni Muslim cleric Sheikh Mohammad Sayed Tantawi said Islam has nothing to do with terrorism and condemned killings of innocent people, following a meeting in the Egyptian capital city of Cairo on Tuesday with the European Union (EU) envoy to the Middle East.
"The difference between Islam and terrorism is enormous, like night and day," said the Sheikh of Cairo's Al-Azhar, the highest authority in Sunni Islam, quoted by MENA news agency.
"It is impossible to qualify a person defending his land, his religion and possessions as a terrorist," he said after holding talks with Miguel Angel Moratinos.
"The terrorist is he who occupies the land of others, digs up crops, encircles him, commits aggression, chases him from his home and destroys it," Sheikh Tantawi said.
"We are against the killing of innocents, whether it be children, women or the elderly," he added.
In addition, he called for the international community "to settle the Palestinian question by sending an armed international force" to the Israeli-occupied territories so as to give negotiations a chance. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
