Cairo : Activities of Al-Azhar International Conference in Support of Jerusalem will kick off in Cairo on Wednesday with a high-level Arab, Islamic and international participation and attendance of representatives from 86 countries, under the patronage of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The opening session of the two-day conference includes speeches by Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb; Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas; Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen; Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit; Speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly Marzouq Al-Ghanim; Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz Al Alsheikh; Secretary General of the Muslim World League (MWL) Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa; Arab Parliament Speaker Dr. Meshaal bin Fahm Al-Salami; Pope Tawadros II, Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark; and Secretary General of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit.

The second session of the conference, to be chaired by former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, entitled “The Arab identity of Jerusalem and its mission”, deals with the following four themes: “Universal religious status of Jerusalem”, “Jerusalem and its civilization – history and present”, “The impact of identity change in spreading hatred”, and “Refuting Zionist claims about Jerusalem and Palestine.” The conference will come to a close with adoption of the final declaration.

—Ayman Mohammed/UNA-OIC