Karen Hughes, Remarks with Dr. Ali El Samman, Cairo, Egypt

Remarks with Dr. Ali El Samman, Karen Hughes, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Cairo, Egypt, September 25, 2005, (3:00 p.m. local time)

UNDER SECRETARY HUGHES: I just had a wonderful meeting with His Eminence Sheikh Tantawi and I'm deeply honored to visit Al-Azhar, which has such a proud, 1,000-plus year tradition of scholarship and enlightenment and learning. It is one of the world's most influential centers of scholarship and theology and jurisprudence and Sheikh al Tantawi and I had a wonderful meeting. I thanked him because Al-Azhar, under his leadership, was among the first -- and he said the first -- religious institutions in the world to formally condemn the September 11 attacks and this great institution with its proud, 1,000 year tradition he told me, is built on tolerance, and enlightenment, and education for all, boys and girls, both students and faculty. The Sheikh also made the point that all divine religions are built on a spirit of love and it is important that all of us work together to fight extremism, to fight terrorism and I know this institution has been at the forefront of interfaith dialogue. One of the things that President Bush and Secretary Rice asked me to emphasize on this trip is interfaith dialogue, which is the reason that I chose this meeting as my first meeting on my first trip to the Middle East, was to talk about the courage of this institution. I praised the Sheikh for his courage and he said "Well it's not courage because it is doing the right thing…

DR. ALI EL SAMMAN: Yes, yes it is --

UNDER SECRETARY HUGHES: -- to speak out against terrorism and extremism." I think that's a very important message for all of us. I also told the Sheikh that many people around the world do not understand the important role that faith plays in Americans' lives. We have freedom of religion guaranteed in our constitution and we have many people in America for whom faith is a very important part of their lives. People go to churches, and to mosques, and to synagogues, and people are also free not to practice or have faith at all in our country. The Sheikh told me -- and I was glad to hear -- that on his two visits to the United States previously, he had witnessed the important role that faith does play in the lives of so many Americans. So it was a wonderful visit, I thank you so much for your warm hospitality and look forward to it being the beginning of a very constructive dialogue. Thank you all very much.

QUESTION: What did you learn today that you didn't know this morning?

UNDER SECRETARY HUGHES: Well, I think I was able to have a wonderful meeting with His Eminence to talk with him about the common language of the heart, we said, about the common language of the heart and that people --

DR. ALI EL SAMMAN: common values --

UNDER SECRETARY HUGHES: -- common values, that people of different faiths and different countries, the people of America, the people of Egypt. We talked about generosity, I thanked him for the generosity of the Egyptian people in responding to the hurricane and he told me that the American people had set a great example of generosity throughout our history in responding to crises, whether in the Middle East or in Africa or throughout the world and the tsunami last year. So, we really, I think, talked about the things that we have in common, our need for education and enlightenment, the importance of faith in the lives of our nations, and so it was a wonderful meeting I thought.

DR ALI EL SAMMAN: Exactly.

UNDER SECRETARY HUGHES: I'm so proud and honored that you could have me here.

QUESTION: Did the Sheikh have any complaint about the distorted image of Islam in the States?

DR. ALI EL SAMMAN: No, he hadn't touched this. He was counting the wise people shall finally have the last word to say.

QUESTION: Could you ask the Sheikh to do more to encourage the moderate voices in the Middle East?

UNDER SECRETARY HUGHES: Well, the Sheikh has been a leader in that effort and this institution has been a leader in speaking out against extremism, against terrorism, and saying that that is not in keeping with the tenets of Islam or the tenets of any of the divine religions. He made a point to me to say that all divine religions are based on love, and tolerance, and respect for one another.

DR. ALI EL SAMMAN: Thank you all.

UNDER SECRETARY HUGHES: Thank you all very much.

2005/886

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