Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, received HE Fatoumata Bah Barrow, the First Lady of the Republic of Gambia during her first official visit to Cairo. 

The Grand Imam expressed his welcome to the First Lady of Gambia and her accompanying delegation, stressing that Al-Azhar is ready to increase the number of scholarships allocated to Gambian students to study at Al-Azhar, and to receive Gambian imams to train them and inform them of the latest dynamics to confront extremist ideas.

His Eminence affirmed Al-Azhar’s permanent support for the countries of the African continent on religious and social levels, through Al-Azhar missionary, medical and relief convoys sent to African countries to help their people face various intellectual and humanitarian risks.

During the meeting, His Eminence explained that Al-Azhar opened the door for African students to enroll in secular faculties, such as medicine, engineering, in addition to Sharia and Arabic Language faculties. Thus, Al-Azhar aims to achieve development in African countries, in addition to its missionary and humanitarian roles.

The First Lady of the Republic of Gambia, for her part, said that the Gambian youth are looking forward to studying at Al-Azhar, the fortress of moderation and tolerance in the Muslim world. She expressed her hope that Al-Azhar will open a centre for teaching Arabic and an Azharite institute in Gambia to provide educational and missionary services to the people of Gambia who love Al-Azhar and its global message.

It is worth mentioning that the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar had doubled the number of scholarships offered to students of the Islamic Republic of Gambia, at the beginning of this year, to 16 scholarships, distributed over all scientific and religious disciplines of knowledge. Among more than 35,000 foreign students, fifty-one Gambian students are studying at Al-Azhar, in various fields within the faculties of its prestigious university.