President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s Speech during the Celebration of the Prophet’s Birth

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, and the Most Merciful

Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, 

Honorable scholars and imams, ladies and gentlemen, 

Peace and Allah’s blessings be upon you...

Today, we celebrate the commemoration of the birth of the Best of Creation, the Master of the Prophets, and the mercy that was sent by Allah to mankind; the witness, the caller to Allah, the beacon of light, the Prophet and the Messenger, our master Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace” who was sent by God, the Most High”.

On this cherished occasion, I convey my greetings to the people of Egypt and the peoples of the entire Arab and Muslim world, asking Allah Almighty for His continuous recurrence of this commemoration upon us and the whole world, with goodness and blessings. 

Islam’s message, as received by our Prophet (PBUH), has elevated the value of knowledge, with the first verse of His Holy Revelations being “Read”, for the purpose of elevating scholarship and scholars, in appreciation for the importance of forethought. Reaching awareness and correct understanding in all matters of life, as per Allah’s asking, leads us to harness the precious and unique grace of the mind, to contemplate His creation.

Therefore, we always underscore the importance of the issue of rational awareness and the correct understanding of religion, which will always remain one of the priorities of the current phase. You may agree with me that creating any nation’s awareness in a correct manner is one of the key elements for its stability and progress, in the face of those who distort words and take them out of context, and those who disseminate destructive and deviant thoughts that undermine mankind’s ability to think rationally and innovate. They want to lead them astray and deviate from obeying the Devine orders and from construction and reform of the universe for the welfare of all humanity and as a method for humanity in promoting the human soul and monitoring their movement in life.

It is necessary for us to continue  this mission and historic responsibility and to double the efforts exerted by the religious institutions and their honorable scholars to disseminate the values of tolerance and coexistence, the belief in the diversity of thoughts and beliefs, acceptance of the other, in addition to correcting and rectifying distorted conceptions and disseminating the tolerant teachings of the religion so as to maintain the fundamentals and values of Islam. Here, I would like to note that the word is a responsibility that Islam has glorified, asserting the need to caring for it and assuming it in the utmost way.

Bearing this in mind, I would like to reiterate that Egypt is proceeding in its mission to create awareness and rectify the religious discourse. This is a collective and joint responsibility that requires concerted efforts to build together an enlightened and wise intellectual trajectory that develop a stable personality, that is capable of countering challenges and building the state of the future.

Brothers and Sisters, Honorable Attendees,

One of the principle messages of Islam, which was disseminated by our guide and beloved Prophet, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, is to achieve co-existence, and social peace among humanity, in addition to people’s right for a decent living. As we uphold these valuable principles as a guiding light for a working approach, I would like to tell all Egyptians that we are moving with a robust and vigorous determination to build our dear homeland, Egypt, to become their present and future in a manner reflecting the grandeur of their history and civilization and to provide a decent living for all segments of the Egyptian people based on God’s verses: “and whoever saves one (soul) it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.” We desperately need this today, to translate the meanings of this noble verse to actual behavior in our lives and world.

Thank you

May God’s peace and blessings be upon you all