Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, warned of a widespread "cultural invasion" facing Egyptian and Arab youth, aimed at causing them to lose their balance and isolating them to a large extent from the issues of their homeland and nation.
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar pointed out that "society today is suffering from a major crisis represented by the existence of agendas that aim to separate young people from their cultural, religious and moral roots, and the surrounding attempts at intellectual and cultural kidnapping that aim to deprive them of their balance and ability to distinguish between good and bad."
Al-Tayeb warned of a “widespread cultural invasion that invades homes and reaches the rooms of young people without supervision, leading to their isolation to a great extent from the issues of their homeland and nation, pushing some of them to abandon their identity, and making them easy prey for a flood of moral depravity and a decline in the system of values.”
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar stressed Al-Azhar’s keen interest and great care in supporting all efforts that contribute to enhancing societal awareness and preserving the system of values and morals.
The messages of the Sheikh of Al-Azhar come in the context of warning against what he considered attempts to deprive Egyptian society and youth of their identity, as he had previously warned a few days ago against “the neglect of some families to teach their children the language of the Holy Quran, at a time when they boast about their mastery of foreign languages.”
During his meeting with Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education, Al-Tayeb stated that the call to pay attention to the Arabic language does not mean turning away from learning foreign languages. Rather, mastering them is important, but priority should be given to the Arabic language, as it is the language of the Holy Quran and one of the most important components of identity, culture, and belonging.
